Gold-Diggers

Recently I had a conversation with my friend who asked me the following question: "Do you think that women fall for guys because of their money?" Repulsed and on instinct I said, obviously, "no." And then he started pointing out all the 'evidence', all the girls who marry rich guys and if I would take more interest in a guy in a nice suit or in dirty sweatpants. Basically, he was trying to prove to me that indeed women are materialistic and I am wrong. After some reflection on the subject, here is what I think is true:


First of all, there all kinds of women with different beliefs, values and goals. I am sure that gold-diggers do exist, but I think it is ignorant to generalize all women, as well as men. As my friend was asking mainly about my own experiences, I will concentrate on those. I do not see myself as a gold-digger, and I certainly would not fall for a guy just because of his wealth, no matter how extensive it might be. I do admit though that this might be something that I would find attractive, but also intimidating. I tend to associate people's wealth with their hard work, experiences and knowledge, so I assume that they might have an interesting personality, that is all.

Another explanation is the biological, more crude one. Because of reproduction instincts, women tend to seek out men who would be able to provide for their future children. Having now more equality and parents' roles merging, this becomes a more primitive and less relevant explanation.

Again, I cannot speak for all women, but I think that even if I was with a wealthy man, I am too competitive to take advantage of him, I'd feel the constant pressure to do better myself. Some, lazy women with no ambitions or integrity might find a wealthy man a perfect solution to their debts and desires, but personally I would find it too demeaning if I'd have to rely on someone financially.