評論
打印
The marriage market
婚姻市場
Got to have a J.O.B.
必須要有一份工作
Women still most want to marry men with money
女性仍然最想嫁給有錢的男人
JANE AUSTEN'S characters took it for granted that men with money made more eligible mates. “A man like that is hard to find, but I can't get him off my mind,” lamented the female vocalists of ABBA. A new study from the Pew Research Centre, a think-tank, finds that little has changed. Fully 78% of American women who have never been married say it is “very important” that their future spouse has a “steady job”. By comparison, only 46% of men mind much what their future spouse does for a living.
簡·奧斯丁筆下的人物想當然地認為越是有錢的男人越適合做伴侶。“這樣的男人是很難找到的，但是我無法將他們踢除出我的腦海。”ABBA中的一位女歌手這樣說道。智囊團尤皮研究中心的一項新研究顯示，女性在這方面的思想幾乎沒有改變。未婚美國女性中，有78%的人認為未來配偶擁有“一份穩定的工作”是“十分重要的。”相比之下，只有46%的男性介意他們未來的配偶以什么為生。
Wrenching changes in the labour market, combined with these ancient preferences, have shaken up the marriage market. Women are much more likely to have jobs than they were half a century ago; men, somewhat less so. Women today find it easier to cope without a male breadwinner. At the same time, many find the pool of potential husbands less appealing.
勞動市場的痛苦的變化以及一些古老的偏好動搖了婚姻市場。相比于半個世紀之前，女性更有機會參加工作，而男性卻稍稍減少了一點。現在的女性發現即使沒有男性養家，生活也很容易對付。同時，許多女性發現潛在丈夫沒有那么大的吸引力了。
In 1960 young, never-married women were spoilt for choice. For every 100 of them aged 25-34, there were 139 young, never-married men with jobs vying for their attention. In 2012 there were just 91. For some groups, the gap is much bigger. Young never-married black women outnumber young never-married black men with jobs by a startling two-to-one (see chart). This helps explain why although African-Americans are more likely than other races to say they value marriage, only 26% of black women are actually married, compared with 51% of whites.
在1960年，年輕、未婚的女性是有極大的選擇余地的。每100位25到34歲的女性，就有139位年輕、未婚且有工作的男性爭搶著吸引她們的注意。而到了2012年，只有91位這樣的男性了。對于某些群體，這樣的差距可能更大。年輕未婚的黑人女性與年輕未婚且有工作的黑人男性的比例竟高達驚人的2:1。這就解釋了為什么盡管非裔美國人強調他們比其他種族更在乎婚姻，然而相比于白人女性51%的結婚率，黑人女性只有26%。
The raw ratio of bachelors to bachelorettes varies with age. There are 118 unmarried 25-year-old men for every 100 single women, since women are more likely to marry older partners. Around the age of 40, the ratio is roughly even. From then on, the surplus of men turns into a deficit: by the age of 64 there are only 62 unmarried men, with or without jobs, for every 100 unmarried women.
單身的男女比例隨著年齡的不同而變化。每100位單身女性就有118位未婚的單身男性，因為女性更愿意嫁給年長的男性。到了40歲左右，這個比例更加明顯了。從那個年齡段開始，盈余的男性變成了赤字：到了64歲，每100位未婚女性，只有62位未婚男性，且不管他們是否有工作。
Overall 20% of Americans 25 or older, the highest share ever, have never said “I do.” That is partly because they are marrying later. Kim Parker, one of the study's authors, reckons that kids are more cautious these days, whereas lovebirds of yore “used to leap into the unknown together.”
總體來說，美國25歲以及以上的人，有20%從來沒有說過“我愿意”，這一比例創下了歷史最高。部分原因是他們晚婚。研究中心的一位作者金姆·帕克說，如今的孩子們更加謹慎了，而昔日的情侶則是選擇“一起走向未知的世界。”
But some Americans are never marrying at all, either because they prefer not to, or because they can't find the right person. Pew predicts that by 2030 28% of American men who were aged between 25-34 in 2010—and 23% of women—will never have tied the knot. In 1980 only 6% of 45-54 year olds had never been hitched. For men with not much education, the picture is especially grim. Among young American adults with a high school certificate or less, there are 174 never-married men for every 100 never-married women. The difference largely reflects the difficulty poorly-educated men have finding work.
但是有些美國人卻一生都不結婚，有的是因為自己不愿意，而有的則是因為找不到合適的對象。皮尤研究中心預測，2010年25-34歲的男性到了2030年有28%仍然未婚，而女性則有23%。在1980年，45-54的年齡段中，只有6%的人未婚。對于那些沒有受過多少教育的男性來說，情況尤為嚴峻。對于那些只有高中或以下學歷的未婚女性來說，每100位就有174位未婚男性。這樣的差異很大程度上反映了低教育程度的男性找工作十分困難。
Men and women with college degrees are still highly likely to wed and stay that way. But the cost of college can delay the day when young people feel they can afford an engagement ring, let alone a family. A third cited their finances as the reason they were not yet hitched, compared with just 20% of those over 35. As one Eminem fan at a recent music festival inAtlantaromantically put it “I'm just trying to sort things one at a time. I've got a girlfriend but I've also got college debt.”
擁有大學學歷的男性和女性然然很有可能結婚并保持下去。但是上大學的費用會推遲他們的婚期直到年輕人認為自己可以負擔得起一枚訂婚戒指，更不用說是一個家庭。超過35歲的人有20%是因為財政緊張而沒有結婚，而他們則有三分之一是出于這個原因。就像在最近亞特蘭大的一個音樂節上，埃米納姆的一個粉絲浪漫地說：“我只是想一次性解決問題，我有女朋友，可我也有大學債務。”
