Gold+Digger

Billal Virani ** “Gold Digger” ** ** Definition ** Initially, the term “gold digger” was the name for a person who used to literally digs for gold in gold fields. According to the // Merriam-Webster Dictionary // it was first used in 1830, which was the same time as the settlement of western lands in the United States, specifically California (Gold digger, n.d.). The same definition for “gold digger” also states that it is “a person who uses charm to extract money or gifts from others” (Gold digger, n.d.). In an article titled “How To Spot A Gold Digger” in the popular online magazine // AskMen //, the author discusses telltales like a female who is very generous with sex, a date who complains about the low cost of going out, and the differences of received love being dependent on financial expenditures (Love, D., n.d.). ** Popular Culture ** One of the reasons for the popularity of the term is due to Kanye West’s single “Gold Digger” from the album // Late Registration //. It released in 2005 and quickly became one of the most popular digital records and is currently ranked at number 49 in all-time top songs (Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs, n.d.). In the song, West’s attraction to the female is due to mainly physical features like a “Louis Vatton under her under arm” and the fact that “she gonna have a ass like Serena (Williams)”. The attraction to physical appearances of the female reflects his desire to breed with someone with greater fertility rates. Since age and physical appearance have less reproductive value for males, females look for a mate who can provide for their offspring through material advantages. The difference in m  ate preferences is clearly evident by West’s analysis of his own attractive features, which largely includes financia l support, as he states “we all went to din(ner) and then I had to pay”. He also recognizes the fact that for a female of this high caliber and physicality he’s required to provide a higher level of support, as he states “if you fuckin’ with this girl then you betta’ be paid”. In the song, West describes a story of providing for her offspring only to realize that it wasn’t his child. He then tells men to “holla we want pre-nup”, recommending to contract a prenu ptial agreement to guard against gold diggers (KANYE WEST – GOLD DIGGER LYRICS, n.d.).

** Prenuptial Agreements ** In the United States, most states protect divorcees by generally splitting the assets of both partners in half. A prenuptial agreement, or prenup, requires the couple to decide before marriage on property rights in the case of divorce. According to the article “Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements”, prenups have been around for quite some time but became popular in the United States in the beginning of the 20th century (Economic Education Bulletien, 2010). In the 1920s, when prosperous men intended on marrying young beautiful women, people starting commonly using prenups in order to derail wives from financial motives. Ever since then, it’s become increasingly popular. Just like in the 1920’s, one of the reasons to do a prenup is because there is a wide gap between the partners’ wealth or income. Some other reasons include a partner having substantial debt or ownership of a business, which can complicate a situation in the case of a divorce or death. An article in // USA Today // in 2010 shared the results of a survey which found 36% of adults thought that prenups make smart financial sense, which is an increase from the 28% in 2002 (Laura, 2010). These results show that people are beginning to become increasingly aware of the benefits of prenuptial agreements but also that they’re becoming more comfortable with it. In the same article, experts discuss the communication troubles that couples encounter with discussing exit strategies. Although some believe it’s like planning for divorce, most experts share that it can be much more than that. As an expert in the // USA Today //article, Elizabeth Gilbert, author of // Eat Pray Love //, shares that it can protect someone from their spouses’ irresponsible behavior like credit card debt or adultery. Some prenups even go as far as putting limitations on weight gain, drug use, and frequency of intimacy. All of these things create for more open communication before marriage so that the couple can share exactly what they expect out of the marriage and ensure that their intentions align. Since a relationship with a “gold digger” has both financial motivations as well as physical attraction (traditionally from the wealthier individual), it’s becoming more common to verbalize and transcribe these expectations in front of a lawyer in order to hold the spouse accountable. Another quality of the prenup is to remove these motivations; it could state that there are no financial or other material expectations, so that the marriage is solely based on the relationship between the two people. Many couples are starting to see the benefits of this as they can focus on growing and transforming their relationship, through communication of all sorts, without having the worry of long-term financial consequences or exit strategies. ** References ** Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs. (n.d.). // Billboard.com //. Retrieved April 10, 2011 from http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/hot100/charts/top100-titles-50.shtml Economic Education Bulletien (2010). Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements. // American Institute for Economic Research //, 50(12), 47-56. Gold digger. (n.d.). In // Merriam-Webster Dictionary online //. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gold%20digger I Love 00. (n.d.). // The Online Reflector //. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from http://reflector.uindy.edu/2009/11/24/i-love-00/ <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">KANYE WEST – GOLD DIGGER LYRICS. (n.d.). // Sing365 Lyrics //. Retrieved April 10, 2011 from http://www.sing365.com/music/lyrics-kanye- west/455a56ffa5f48afa482570560053ed5e <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Laura, P. (2010, March 11). Prenuptial agreements: Unromantic but important. // USA Today //. Retrieved April 10, 2011 from http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/basics/2010-03-08- prenups08_CV_N.htm <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Love, D. (n.d.). How To Spot A Gold Digger. // AskMen – Men’s Online Magazine //. Retrieved April 10, 2011 from http://www.askmen.com/dating/doclove_100/138c_relationship_expert.html <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">