Letters to the Editor
Published Letters: 7 Editor's Choice: 1
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Acting dumb to woo Prince Charming
[Read the article: Acting dumb to woo Prince Charming]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm not sure where all the skepticism in the letters above comes from --- the study Dowd quoted may be flawed, of course, but if the study is valid, Dowd is merely reporting the fact that the higher the IQ of the woman, the less likely they are to get married; whereas the opposite appears to be the case for men. One can blame "annoying" women who "like to win arguments", or whatever, but if that study is valid the fact remains that men seem to be rewarded for high IQ and women appear to be penalized.
I have to admit the study does puzzle me, as most of my intelligent friends seem to prefer intelligent mates, whether male or female --- and for my part (I am a straight man), the smarter the woman, the better. In fact, for me personally, intelligence is perhaps the single most attractive characteristic for a woman --- thinking back on the women I've been involved with or been attracted to over the years --- they are brilliant, creative, interesting, fascinating women all.
But would I be intimidated by a woman I thought was not only brilliant, but much smarter than me? I'm not sure, though I doubt it. But perhaps for some men, it's not so much that they want to marry "dumb" women, but they don't want to marry women who they think are smarter than they are. So perhaps the advice for smart women isn't to play dumb (which to me, and I think to most of the smart straight men I know, would be a total turnoff), but to restrict yourself to smart men.
Still: if there are smart straight men who like "dumb" women --- I can only say, go for it, man. Feel free to choose a mate for superficial reasons... and let the rest of us appreciate the brilliant, creative, interesting women out there.