Recently a study came out that revealed men are more likely to marry women who look like their mother. In contrast, women were less likely to marry men who look like their fathers.
It was suggested that this may be true about men because they are visually oriented. And for women, they are more about fatherly qualities.
Now some believe these findings are creepy. I personally don’t put much weight into this study. Maybe it’s because I am looking at it from my own perspective.
My father is Caucasian, of German descent. My husband is half Mexican and half Polish. He is sometimes mistaken as an East Indian or Arab.
In other words, my husband looks nothing like my father. But his personality isn’t much like my fathers either. In fact, they have more differences than similarities.
Then I think about my mother-in-law. She is a petite Polish woman. I am not. Let’s just leave it at that. In other words, my husband didn’t marry someone who looks like his mother.
Then I think about my 18-year-old son’s version of the “perfect” woman to marry. She is blonde, blue-eyed and small in stature. I am none of those. So he definitely isn’t looking to marry a clone of his mother.
So this brings up the whole Oedipus complex. It is based on the belief that children have an unconscious sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex. The boy becomes jealous about the father and the girl about the mother.
So in order for someone to develop into a healthy adult, they have to come to terms with this “battle.” A sort of truce between the daughter and mother, and the son and father must be reached.
It’s all a bit odd if you ask me. But what I tend to believe is that if you admire the qualities in your father, as a woman you might want a husband to have the same. And this is probably true for men as well.
What are your thoughts on this?
Related Articles:
Photo by merfam in Flickr