Yesterday, in a heated discussion with my class about a non-fiction essay on the Pied Piper of Tucson, I posted this question:
“But have you acknowledged the counter-argument?”
Then a voice in my head piped up.
“Bitch, have YOU?”
Yikes. Fine. So it turns out that some wealthy women who date “hobosexuals” go into the relationships with their eyes and hearts open. I mean, the most famous hobosexual in the world is MacKenzie Scott’s new husband, Dan Jewett. MacKenzie is worth what, 58 billion?
And he’s a high school science teacher. WAS a high school science teacher.
But who cares, right? MacKenzie is happy, Dan is happy. She has money, he doesn’t, and they’re fine with that. Dan is a “great guy,” and he’s “going to work tirelessly with MacKenzie to give away most of that money to philanthropic agencies.”
How generous of him to work so hard to spend Jeff’s money.
Kidding aside, the selfie I found of them is cute. They look like a couple who shop at Trader Joe’s on Sundays, spend hours in REI looking for the perfect hiking poles, and carve decoy ducks in log cabins.
The strange sociological phenomenon of “Hobosexuals and the Women Who Love Them” fascinates me almost as much as that of older men dating super young girls. So I decided to contact an editor at Pop Sugar, and ask her what in the world these women could be thinking.
“Is it me?” I asked her. “What wealthy woman with high self-esteem would keep a man?”
It’s you, she said. But I get your reservations. Let’s brainstorm.
So here are the top five reasons we came up with why a wealthy woman would hook up with a man of limited means:
- Money is not an issue to her. Like MacKenzie probably figures, who really cares? She has money, he doesn’t, and since she ain’t gonna find anyone with more money than she has, anyone is fair game. She was already married to the richest man in the world, so she’s already experienced that type of power.
- She’s lonely. Loneliness is a bitch, especially for women who are afraid to be alone. Oftentimes women settle for less than they think they deserve, because it’s better than spending national holidays alone.
- She has low self-esteem. She’s tired of her friends and family flaunting their boyfriends and husbands in her face on Facebook and at parties, and wants someone to flaunt, too. Who cares if he’s broke?
- She doesn’t equate male power with financial success. Tough nut to crack, and good for her. Some of us do.
- She likes the power. She likes being in charge of finances, calling the shots, wielding the power of her bank book. She certainly doesn’t like being submissive to men.
Again, good for her. Some of us do. You know, in the fun way.