In the ’90s, some men had low criteria when choosing a lifelong partner. If a woman was nice and pretty, it was often sufficient for them to blindly enter into marriage and agree to financially support her for life. However, nowadays, many men are less inclined to financially support women in this manner.
I observed this shift through an unusual circumstance. Living near a red-light district in the Netherlands, I had the opportunity to interact with many sex workers, webcam models, and porn stars throughout my life.
Between 1990 and 2010, it was common for sex workers, nearing the end of their careers, to marry men who agreed to provide financial support for the rest of their lives. Typically, these women worked in the industry until their thirties before transitioning to a role as a housewife, while their husbands worked diligently to maintain a high standard of living for them.
However, today, many of these former sex workers find themselves single. Despite retaining a large fan base, these women struggle to find men willing to commit to them.
This trend extends beyond sex workers to women with unstable careers, including singers, actresses, dancers, and models. Once these women reach a certain age or experience a decline in income, men are often less interested in forming long-term commitments.
In general, it appears that men today are less willing to commit to financially supporting women for the rest of their lives.
I declare the era of the trophy wife officially over
The marriage rate in the USA plummeted significantly between 1990 and 2008. Considering that women earn less money than men on average, this suggests that men are increasingly reluctant to financially support a wife and risk being liable for alimony payments.
Every year, men are raising their expectations when they search for a partner. They now expect their women to have a stable job; meeting a nice girl is simply not enough.
This phenomenon is challenging to prove, but I’ve noticed the following trend within my social circle: In the 90s, there were numerous marriages in my country, France. However, today, although I still know many people here, men are increasingly hesitant to marry their female partners. Instead, they opt for an alternative agreement called PACS or choose not to marry at all. PACS is akin to a prenuptial agreement, where there is no community property, and each party retains their assets. Unlike a prenup, they can divorce swiftly and at no cost in 24 hours, and there is no alimony.
In light of this trend, I believe there is an over-representation of married men in the mainstream media. It seems like pure propaganda aimed at encouraging those who are not married to reconsider their stance.
Marriage holds less significance now and we see it much less in movies and TV shows. US movie plots depict stories of individuals who cohabit but are not married.