Why do you think it's rare? Sweden is certainly a society of sexual inequality: http://arxiv.org/pdf/cond-mat/0305528.pdf http://arxiv.org/pdf/cond-mat/0305528.

Why do you think it's rare? Sweden is certainly a society of sexual inequality: http://arxiv.org/pdf/cond-mat/0305528.pdf http://arxiv.org/pdf/cond-mat/0305528.pdf Various studies on social networks have shown that virtually every society has high friendship inequality. Maybe friendships also don't generate happiness? Unfortunately good studies are hard to come by - I've never actually seen any. In virtually all cases, anchoring effects drown out the signal. But as a thought experiment, consider two individuals. One individual is a nerd in a frat house, watching a bunch of bros get laid while he's still a virgin. The other individual is an analyst on a prop desk (i.e., low level person at a bank), making maybe $70k/year while interacting with folks making $10M+. Which of these people do you think is more unhappy? Maybe I just love women a lot more than the average person, but I sure know which one would make me less happy.