I don't believe that women have "nearly all the leverage", but they have more than before.
Once upon a time the majority of women didn't work outside of the home as it was considered unseemly. They might work like mules in the home though.
Besides that
there weren't many professions that women were allowed to be employed in- nanny, housekeeper, cook, lady's maid, companion, maybe shop clerk, nurse, nun...then on the less respectable side barmaid, street seller, actress/singer, or prostitute.
None of it was very well paid and except for maybe actress/singer it wasn't glamorous or fun. You fell into employment if you were born poor, couldn't secure a husband, and didn't have family to stay with (poor relation).
So most women were stuck with being married to whatever man they could get and divorce was very rare even if a spouse was a layabout, a drunk, a cheater, or abusive.
- Industrialization, universal public education, and them women working traditionally male jobs during the World Wars all expanded women's employment options.
- The birth control pill gave women the option to behave more like men sexually.
- Debasement of the fiat currency (and desire for cheaper labor) pushed more women into the workforce.
- Divorce and then single parenthood became socially acceptable.
All of this did give women more power to choose to be married, or not be married. Women don't have to shackle themselves for life to men who are lazy, drunk, cheaters, or abusive.
There also isn't much incentive to partner with a man who will add stress instead of helping share the work of maintaining a home and raising a family.
So, yes, some men are either less likely to be married or less likely to stay married because women have more power than before.
And we need better men (and a better society overall) which is a conundrum as boys seem to be hurt more by getting less parental attention (single parent family).
https://thegritandgraceproject.org/m...w-to-raise-one
Bookmarks