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Does your future husband have this quality?
By Kait Smith — Last updated on Jun 20, 2023
Have you ever wanted to date the big macho guy who never tells you how he's feeling or opens up about anything in his past?
Of course not! Because you want to date a man, not a robot. Women are emotional creatures, and they need a partner who can understand and empathize with them.
In 2012, researchers from Southampton Solent University in the U.K. found that in times of economic turmoil, women prefer gentle, sensitive men.
The long-form explanation of their research findings makes sense. Overall, when financial times are tough, ladies are more attracted to loving and sensitive men. These men also might be the type to pay for dinner on a date.
This conclusion was drawn after researchers had more than 150 women rate men's online dating profiles.
They were then asked to rate which men were dateable, and which were marriage-worthy. Overall, women favored the aforementioned "wimpy" men rather than the "macho" ones, who would take command in a relationship. It looks like the ideal man is different from what the world thinks.
Obviously, we can't argue with the research study results, but we can disagree with the use of the word "wimpy" by The Daily Mail, which originally published news of the study.
No one actually wants to date a wimpy man, but rather the big muscular dude might not have as much in common as the cute guy in glasses who loves all the same things you do and is really in tune with his emotions.
It just doesn't make sense to call a loving and sensitive man wimpy (unless, of course, you're a bully on a 90's Nickelodeon show who needs his lunch money). They're the type of guy to buy you chocolate and wine on your period, and who doesn't love that?
As The Stir argues, "Who doesn't want a man who can show emotion, love deeply, and tune into his partner's emotions? Alpha males are great, but they don't make the best husbands."
Amen, sisters! I mean, just look at Don Draper from Mad Men. So, can we start calling actual quality men something other than wimpy? It seems unfair to demote these marriage-material guys with a word that's defined as "weak and ineffectual." These men are not wimpy, they're just merely muscularly challenged, or just a guy who can't do a pullup. We still love them anyways.
Do you find yourself more likely to date sensitive guys when the economy is blah? Or is that just the type you go after, all year round?
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Kait Smith is an editor, writer, social media manager, and blogger who writes about the rules of love and relationships.