Men with low-paying jobs are a loveless lot
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-08-08 05:29

SINGAPORE: Men with low-paying or menial jobs are often a loveless lot in Singapore, but jobless women don't share their plight.

A survey in Singapore's Sunday Times newspaper said male garbage collectors, loan sharks, road sweepers, cleaners, dishwashers, butchers, fishmongers, hawker's assistants, construction workers and gigolos find that romance poses a formidable challenge in the city-state.

The bulk of the women polled affirmed the way to a women's heart is through the "5Cs" - condominium, car, credit card, country club membership and cash.

Nearly 85 per cent of the women queried turned up their noses at having a partner holding any of the menial jobs mentioned.

"Frankly, I don't think they would be able to afford me," Lu Yumin, 23, an accounts executive was quoted as saying.

Having a menial job emerged as better than no employment at all. Joblessness was the second biggest turnoff, second only to being a gigolo.

Despite the increasing trend towards both partners in a marriage working, sociologist Hing Ai Yun attributed the findings to the stereotype that men must be the breadwinners.

"When a man cannot provide, there will be problems," Hing said. "Everyone will see him as a failure."

But it's not just about money. Sociologist Paulin Straughan says pride plays a big part.

"Women in the past were dependent on their spouse's social status for their own social standing. For example, it was a bigger plus to be a doctor's wife than a garbage collector's wife," she said.

Men are a lot less choosy, the poll found. About 81 per cent are willing to date unemployed women, and 65 per cent have no problem dating a hawker.

The poll found a female sex worker is still more likely to find a spouse than a jobless man.

The survey also threw up a few interesting insights into the way Singapore men and women approach relationships.

While more men preferred dating a beer promoter (52 per cent) to a mortician (49 per cent), more would rather marry the latter.

(China Daily 08/08/2005 page1)

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