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Culture War Roundup for the week of July 14, 2025

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I don't understand this response. What do spurious degrees, the failed debt forgiveness plan, or "cartel-like" (????) behaviour of HR have to do with the dating market? Are you confusing the real economy and market with the dating market? I don't think this engaged with Prima's question about why women would settle for poor stupid smelly boyfriends

Are you confusing the real economy and market with the dating market?

I don't think this engaged with Prima's question about why women would settle for poor […] boyfriends

Evidently there is a link between the real market and the dating market.


(And if the descriptor “stupid boyfriends” means “un(der)educated boyfriends”, then “women taking out massive loans for fake degrees that don't pay” is an example of another “market distortion” identified in the original comment that affects the dating market. Now, there’s nothing inherently gendered about this strategy, so a man who is willing to sacrifice earning potential in order to meet the criterion of not being a “stupid boyfriend” can do so. But then he gives up his ability to not be a “poor boyfriend”, so he fails that criterion too.

None of this addresses the “not being a ‘smelly boyfriend’” criterion, of course.)

But the guy who wrote that even flagged that those pointless degrees "Don't pay.", am I now to take that the men in this scenario are poor because their potential girlfriends have psychology BAs and work at Starbucks? What's the connection here, beyond asserting that it's evident? The number of undergrad degrees as a percentage of young people has been increasing steadily for decades, and women have been earning them at a greater rate than men since at least the 80s (People who are now likely out of the dating market or irrelevant). Where's the link in this argument? It sounds just like vague outgroup complaining "Those idiots with fake degrees/who control HR/ who don't want to date me" etc