Modern gal and New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd opines on a recent study that women become less happy than men as they age in this column.
To warn the gals of the group: it might be a depressing read. But I also think it’s worth the time to scan some of the comments on the story, many of which present interesting points that might have been left out in the study or might be behind the results of the study.
In an effort to be optimistic that my life won’t follow the track that the study suggests, I’d like to think that our generation might have different results because of the way roles seem to change with the passing of every generation. I hope that’s the case, anyway.
What do you think about the column? What do you think it will take to be happy when we’re older modern gals?
I began having these thoughts about women (and myself) several years ago. The more "accomplished" I became, the unhappier I became. Until a serious depression hit me over the head like a 9 ton hammer. While I am all for "a woman can do anything" world, it has left me wondering if biologically, it's just not what many of us are cut out for. And now, there is an expectation of being "out there" working hard, earning more, having more crap, blah blah blah. Maybe women who ran the home and raised their kids were happier back in the day than we ever believed. Deep thoughts. :/
Best paragraph of the story:
One area of extreme distraction is kids. “Across the happiness data, the one thing in life that will make you less happy is having children,” said Betsey Stevenson, an assistant professor at Wharton who co-wrote a paper called “The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness.” “It’s true whether you’re wealthy or poor, if you have kids late or kids early. Yet I know very few people who would tell me they wish they hadn’t had kids or who would tell me they feel their kids were the destroyer of their happiness.”
Now, I know why my mother is so incredibly miserable (7 kids) and I'm A-OK (zero). Thanks for a great read, MG!
Interesting. A while ago I read a book called "The Art of Happiness" by the Dalai Lama, and his whole point is that happiness is a choice you make. Happiness is about finding peace within yourself, not relying on outside things like money or even other people, because those things bring you pleasure, they don't make you happy. I think a lot more people would classify themselves as happy if they followed an internal path rather than always wanting something external.
Courtney, that is a beautiful point and something I've aimed to achieve with my own life. I started thinking about that after reading that column, wondering if that spirit was enough for me to not fall into a trap of unhappiness or if it was me being an overly idealistic 20-something.