Women turning surly, survey suggests

OFF THE RIM
Women turning surly, survey suggests

By Jim Keyworth
Gazette Editor

A new survey shows that men are happier than women. Another new survey shows that women are happier than men.

How can this be you ask? Let’s take a closer look.

According to a survey out of the University of Pennsylvania, women are reported to be “less happy with their overall lives,” a reversal of the results when the same question was asked in 1970, at which time women were slightly happier.

According to Princeton economist Alan Krueger, the unhappy state of today’s women is easy to explain. Over the past four decades, men have gradually cut back on activities they deem unpleasant. They work less and relax more.

Women, on the other hand, have gone in the opposite direction. They have joined the workforce and are therefore spending more time doing things they don’t like.

Four decades ago, a typical woman spent 22 hours a week doing things she didn’t like – 40 minutes more than a typical man. Today that gap has grown to 90 minutes, apparently enough to tip the scales in the other direction.

An interesting side note: according to Princeton economist Alan Krueger, these overtaxed women are spending a lot less time dusting than they did back in 1970. Krueger observe that since “there haven’t been any dust-related technological breakthroughs” (what about Swiffer?), houses are “probably just dirtier than they used to be.”

OK, now let’s flip the coin over and look at the other side. According to an online survey of 309 people by the Mental Health Association NSW (MHA), happiness is linked to spending time with friends or being a member of a club (including a church or a social networking site such as Facebook). In that survey, women reported feeling happier than men and had more active social lives.

"It was also interesting to note that the majority (72 per cent) of the respondents were female, which indicates immediately that women are more likely to get involved than men," reported MHA spokeswoman Nataly Bovopoulos.

So there you have it. Men are now happier than women, except when they’re not – in which case women are happier than men.

But I think this all makes perfect sense. Allow me to elaborate.

Let’s accept the premise from the first survey that women as a rule have become an unhappier lot than men. I think most of us guys would agree that’s an observable phenomenon.

And it’s hard to argue with the reason – women are essentially holding down two jobs: they still run the home and they also run the workplace (just a little guy humor there). Being in charge can be exhausting.

But I would have to disagree with the part about men dialing back their busyness. How can that be, what with e-mail and cellphones, and all the other diversions that didn’t exist back in the 60s?

I know I used to be obsessed about keeping my shoes shined and I don’t much care anymore. I used to be obsessed about keeping my car waxed and I don’t much care anymore. But those don’t begin to make up for the time I waste on technological pursuits.

The only explanation that makes sense is that women have been working harder at working harder than men and thus have surpassed us on the unhappiness scale.

I think the other survey – the one showing women to be happier because they are bigger joiners – can also be explained. If 72 percent of the 309 people surveyed were women, it appears to me that the results are skewed.

Because if this survey were strictly scientific, it would be 50-50 men and women. Therefore I propose that the women who dominated the survey are aggressive joiners.

You know the type. Join, join, join. Happy, happy, happy. Church. Facebook. Twitter. Twatter. Smatter. Spatter.

It’s enough to give a sort of happy guy a headache. I think I’ll go take a nap.

But first there’s that issue of dust. Because therein just may be the answer to the great swine flu mystery.

Nobody knows the precise source of the swine flu pandemic (isn’t that a fun word to say?) Porky Pig has been tentatively cleared. So has Miss Piggy. And it’s looking more and more like Charlotte’s Wilbur, despite his exposure at the state fair, is also innocent.

I propose we look closer to home. If we are dusting less and living dirtier, I suggest we are living more like pigs.

Is it too much of a stretch to conjecture that our own filthy habits have led to this end.

Unhappy ladies, start your feather dusters. Gentlemen, how about that nap.