Yet another timesink

One of my lj comrades (judith_s) pointed me to a truly rage-honing slide show on Forbes.com about why marrying a career woman is not a good idea.

Basically, it’s another rehash of all the main patriarchal talking points about why half the human race shouldn’t be working outside the home, but kept working within the home for no paycheck and not being a threat to Rich White Males. The racism and classism inherent in these assumptions is no great surprise, considering the source.

I’m not sure which particular slide did the best job of triggering my targeting mechanisms, but three of them are particularly egregious.

“She’ll be more likely to cheat on you”–Get that prenup signed *pronto* boys, so that when you decide to trade her in on a newer model, she’ll get none of *your* swag. No, it’s far better for you to have her stuck in a crappy marriage too tired to cheat and afraid of a) leaving or b) getting thrown out on your whim because she’s got no means of economic support.

“You’ll be more likely to get sick”–She won’t be around to do one of her primary roles managing *your* mental and physical health while automagically keeping herself in prime trophy wife mode.

“The house will be dirtier”–Some study gets quoted where working wives who make more than $30K/year (~$15 US/hour?) spend 1.9 hours less per week doing chores, but the author of this slide show blithely says that this can all be resolved if the man picks up a broom. Yeah, right, monkeys might fly out of my butt. Besides, $30K/year in the Bay Area won’t get you on the fast track to living large. When almost 50 year old tract houses in my neighborhood are going for a million dollars (and the cheaper ones are often bought by people who tear the old house down for a McMansion), I wonder anew how the *hell* these people can make the mortgage on just two incomes (which I imagine both need to be well into six figures).

Right now, I’m too pissed off to bother looking at the studies they quote. Feel free to comment and mock this odorous pile of fecal matter mercilessly, I could use the amusement.