What is one of the most desirable degrees young women are pursuing at universities today? If you ask this questio
n, you may hear medicine, law, engineering or psychology. But surprisingly some coeds will readily admit that they are majoring in husband hunting 101. Sounds like something from the niftie fifties when the little woman stayed home and made muffins, while hubby ran off to climb the corporate ladder. Scouting for a husband at your local halls of academia is alive and well in 2007.
Sara Schenck, a 20-year-old junior, is enrolled at USC as a Sports and Retail Management major, but is candid about her real reasons for academic pursuits - to find a potential mate. "Why not," she said. "If your plans are to marry and raise a family, then isn't it logical to be on the lookout for someone who fits in with that plan? Although most of us won't admit it, most women already know what they want in a husband," Schenck said.
Using Schenck's strategy, the new hot spot is the law library and happy hour is between 9 and midnight when the aspiring attorneys gather to pour over their briefs. Why an attorney and not a doctor? Schenck explains that usually lawyers have more time to spend with a family than physicians, and that's a quality she's looking for in a mate. Schenck's routine includes putting on one of her best outfits and biggest smiles and walking through the library, with a few law books under her arm. She does not go unnoticed and it's not long before she strikes up a conversation with one of the law students. You might say this is just one of many interviews she will conduct in her search. Zeroing in on a particular profession is also financially related. Many young women want a husband who will be a good provider. Are the hunted aware that they are being pursued?
Jason is a first year law student. He is not insulted by the prospect of being considered potential husband material. "I'd rather marry a woman who is not as career-driven as I am," he said. "I want a large family, and I want a wife who shares that same vision." Jason believes there's nothing wrong with a woman aspiring to be a "stay-at-home" mom and thinks it is a noble profession.
Doesn't this lead to trophy wives and women as arm candy? Will, another first year law student, thinks it depends on a husband's intention. "If that is the arrangement and agreement for the woman to stay home and raise the kids, then it's fine if both have that understanding," he said.
Does this set women back to the dark ages - admitting that they want to keep the homefires burning?
"Young women today saw their mothers run themselves ragged trying to have a career and raise a family," says Cathy Novinger, retired senior vice president of SCANA Corporation. "A lot of them just don't want to do it," she said.
Novinger is a good example of women in the seventies who unlike their mothers, wanted a career and a family. "I just wouldn't have been happy being a housewife," Novinger said. She rose to the VP level at the age of 32, raising a son and starting up her own antique business on the side. Today after retiring from SCANA, she runs her own consulting business. Novinger contends going to college to husband shop is a waste of good education, but then she admits the girls are smart to look for a potential candidate who is poised to make money, and allow their wives to stay home. "I just wonder if those same women will look back later and regret not having made their own mark," she said.
In her book, "Educated in Romance", Anthropologist Dorothy C. Holland believes that even today, college creates a culture of romance with a high pressure peer environment where women see their attractiveness to men overshadow their academic accomplishments. Schenck believes it is simply young women making a conscious life decision based on their own needs and desires.
n, you may hear medicine, law, engineering or psychology. But surprisingly some coeds will readily admit that they are majoring in husband hunting 101. Sounds like something from the niftie fifties when the little woman stayed home and made muffins, while hubby ran off to climb the corporate ladder. Scouting for a husband at your local halls of academia is alive and well in 2007.Sara Schenck, a 20-year-old junior, is enrolled at USC as a Sports and Retail Management major, but is candid about her real reasons for academic pursuits - to find a potential mate. "Why not," she said. "If your plans are to marry and raise a family, then isn't it logical to be on the lookout for someone who fits in with that plan? Although most of us won't admit it, most women already know what they want in a husband," Schenck said.
Using Schenck's strategy, the new hot spot is the law library and happy hour is between 9 and midnight when the aspiring attorneys gather to pour over their briefs. Why an attorney and not a doctor? Schenck explains that usually lawyers have more time to spend with a family than physicians, and that's a quality she's looking for in a mate. Schenck's routine includes putting on one of her best outfits and biggest smiles and walking through the library, with a few law books under her arm. She does not go unnoticed and it's not long before she strikes up a conversation with one of the law students. You might say this is just one of many interviews she will conduct in her search. Zeroing in on a particular profession is also financially related. Many young women want a husband who will be a good provider. Are the hunted aware that they are being pursued?
Jason is a first year law student. He is not insulted by the prospect of being considered potential husband material. "I'd rather marry a woman who is not as career-driven as I am," he said. "I want a large family, and I want a wife who shares that same vision." Jason believes there's nothing wrong with a woman aspiring to be a "stay-at-home" mom and thinks it is a noble profession.
Doesn't this lead to trophy wives and women as arm candy? Will, another first year law student, thinks it depends on a husband's intention. "If that is the arrangement and agreement for the woman to stay home and raise the kids, then it's fine if both have that understanding," he said.
Does this set women back to the dark ages - admitting that they want to keep the homefires burning?
"Young women today saw their mothers run themselves ragged trying to have a career and raise a family," says Cathy Novinger, retired senior vice president of SCANA Corporation. "A lot of them just don't want to do it," she said.
Novinger is a good example of women in the seventies who unlike their mothers, wanted a career and a family. "I just wouldn't have been happy being a housewife," Novinger said. She rose to the VP level at the age of 32, raising a son and starting up her own antique business on the side. Today after retiring from SCANA, she runs her own consulting business. Novinger contends going to college to husband shop is a waste of good education, but then she admits the girls are smart to look for a potential candidate who is poised to make money, and allow their wives to stay home. "I just wonder if those same women will look back later and regret not having made their own mark," she said.
In her book, "Educated in Romance", Anthropologist Dorothy C. Holland believes that even today, college creates a culture of romance with a high pressure peer environment where women see their attractiveness to men overshadow their academic accomplishments. Schenck believes it is simply young women making a conscious life decision based on their own needs and desires.
