Do people marry someone similar?
August 15, 2012 11:41 AM Subscribe
My friend has heard that people marry those who are similar to themselves (in looks, age, social class, education etc). He worries this will rule out all the "good" women.
Help me advise him how marriages really work.
Despite being good looking and smart my friend has not had an easy life (health problems and family issues) and claims that any woman who is "any good" would not want him, and a woman like him would be "too much trouble". Clearly he has self esteem issues, but I worry he is getting the wrong idea about marriage because of this idea that people marry those who are similar.
Can you tell me:
Did you marry someone similar or quite different to you in age, looks, social class, education or other major characteristics? How did your marriage work out?
What advice can I give to my friend, (apart from "fix your self esteem so that 'someone like you' is not such a bad concept"?)
posted by EatMyHat to human relations (36 answers total) 15 users marked this as a favorite
My husband and I are alike in many ways -- we went to the same undergrad school, are less than a year apart in age, grew up in the same state attending public schools, come from stable families, and have similar ideas about how we want to live our lives. But we're not alike in some pretty obvious ways -- race, religion, the fact that my parents are immigrants and we grew up speaking a language he had never heard of, while he lived a lifestyle that I only saw on TV.
It sounds like your friend feels like his life is complicated and it would be difficult to be with someone whose life is similarly complicated. Fair enough. But I doubt that being alike in that way -- i.e., seeking out someone with the same amount of baggage as you -- is a priority for most people. Usually you get to know and like someone first, and then you learn about their health problems and family issues.
posted by chickenmagazine at 11:48 AM on August 15, 2012 [2 favorites]