Sorry, I couldn’t resist. And who doesn’t love Abba?

So, yesterday there was this new post/study from YourTango blowing up twitter. It seems that 75% of Women Would Not Marry Someone Who Was Unemployed. Shocking!

So not shocking.

Also revealed was that 65% of those same women wouldn’t get married if they, themselves, were unemployed. Both of these stats make total sense to me. Marriage is, amongst other things, a business arrangement. And getting married while you or your beloved is unemployed sounds like a bad business decision to me.

This doesn’t mean that women can’t fall in love with unemployed men (which was certainly the implication of some of yesterday’s twitter action). Rather, 75% are sensible enough to realize that it’s probably a good idea to wait until their future hubby gets back into the workforce.

Anyway, I actually read beyond the headline and found some info in the study that is interesting. To me.

32 percent of women in a relationship make more money than their partner. 50 percent of women would marry someone who earned significantly less than them, while 41 percent wouldn’t marry someone who earned significantly less than them.

That’s half of all women surveyed saying they’d marry someone who earned significantly less than them. Not, IMO, a small number. Especially when you consider societal norms and all that.

So kids… it’s been a while. It’s time for a poll. I want to know what you think of this. Does money make the world go round?

For the women:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

For the guys:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

So yesterday, I reposted an old post (still having issues with writers block). It was one of last year’s Top Ten most popular posts and one I’d thought about recently.

And, sure enough, there were some people who felt the need to tell me that my problem is that sex should never be separated from love and compassion.  *sigh*

As always, I find that kind of crap tiresome.  And yes, I called it crap. And tiresome.  I know that sex that happens within a great and loving relationship can be wonderful. And sex that happens for the sole purpose of having awesome sex (with someone you don’t give a damn about) can also be wonderful.

Wonderful in a different way (than sex with someone you’re in love with).

But I’d never try to convince someone who only wants to have sex as part of a loving relationship that they should have casual sex. To each his own and all that.

Yet, without fail, a week doesn’t go by that I’m not on the receiving end of another random rant about what a damaged and horrible person I am. It would annoy me more if I didn’t find it so funny.

Anyway, this leads me to today’s post. I’m curious about YOU. Not what you think. What you’ve done. Lately. Or at least, most recently.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

So, yesterday, me and the other fab members of the Insomniac club explored the fade. Some of my fellow bloggers defended the fade as a legitimate way to peacefully end a relationship. Others were violently opposed to the practice.

So here’s what I want to know – how do you feel about it?  Do you think it’s OK when people disappear from relationships without saying goodbye?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Gosh darnit, those crazy kids have gone and surprised us again. The latest survey shows a significant decline in teen sexual activity.

Specifically:

“The latest round of the quaintly named National Survey of Family Growth found that among 15-to-24-year-olds, 29 percent of females and 27 percent of males reported no sexual contact with another person ever – up from the 22 percent of both sexes when the survey was last conducted in 2002.”

Wow.  That seems like kind of a high number. To me. There are lots of other fun facts from the survey, too.  I’ll get to them another time.  Oh, I should mention a couple of things here. First off, this is all based on self-reported data. So we have to trust that these teens and young adults were all telling the truth, and not telling fibs. Because why would they lie?  FYI, I think the numbers are not entirely accurate. For example did the women include experiences of rape?  Because 1 in 4 women in college today has been the victim of rape. Just saying…

As I looked at the data, I started to wonder…  what about my readers? Were you guys early starters or late bloomers?

No, I don’t think my data will mirror that survey. I’m guessing you guys are more adventurous than the national average. And also, just as likely to fib.

So here we go:

Women Only Poll

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Men Only Poll

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Thoughts?

I’m a sucker for certain types of articles. Claim to have a good explanation for why otherwise reasonable people do unreasonable things and I’ll give you a click. Even if I don’t expect you to have a good answer.

I’ll read your post for the entertainment value alone.

So yesterday I was thrilled to see this post from The Love Consultants, “Why Smart Women Fall for Jerks.” There wasn’t anything really new there, but it was a fun way to spend a minute of my life.

The post reminded me of a really dumb guy I dated nearly 2 decades ago. He was really, really dumb. But that was fine with me. In a lot of ways, in fact, it was the answer to my prayers.  Just prior to him, I’d had this odd, tumultuous flirtation with a friend of a friend. And the friend of a friend was a smart guy. Mr. Smart-friend-of-a-friend was always mean to me.  It felt like he was trying to put me in my place. If you know what I mean?

After battling it out with Mr. Smart-friend-of-a-friend it was a relief to meet someone who was dumb and kind.

Anyway, one day my mom asked me to describe the not-so-bright new guy in my life to her. And what I said was, “He’s too stupid to realize how smart I am.”

Yes, I really said that. To my mom. About a guy I was dating.

And it was true. Also, I always assumed that he was so sweet and kind to me because he didn’t see my intelligence as a threat. Because he didn’t see my intelligence. There was no need for him to constantly cut me down.

Which leads us in a roundabout way to this week’s poll. It’s been ages since I’ve done a poll.  I’ve been totally slacking.

I’m dividing this one up by gender. Please be honest, it’s only fun when people are honest.

Women Only, Please

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Men Only, Please

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.