>> Newsflash: Most married women are sex-starved. “In a much-discussed recent survey of 35,000 American women, published in the July issue of Woman’s Day, 72 percent of married women said they had considered leaving their husbands. Seventy-nine percent said they’d like sex more often, and 52 percent said they have no sex life to speak of.”
>> Relatedly — This satire piece is hilarious: Used-Car-Driving, Non-Property-Owning, Unmarried Man Somehow Happy; Experts Baffled.
“We’ll probably never know until it’s too late, but we both think he’s hiding something,” said Prenner’s mother, Danna Prenner. “All of his friends are married and have children, so when he says to me, ‘Mom, I’m happy living the single life,’ I have to wonder what he’s not really telling us. I only hope that someone can intercede and bring him out of the black hole that he’s falling into, like a woman who wants to start a family and settle down right away, for example.”
>> Newsflash: Buying factory-farmed meat doesn’t discourage factory farming. One misguided pork chop eating ex-vegetarian gets schooled by Umbra.
>> Newsflash: California’s Major Risk Medical Insurance Program doesn’t cover major risks. Those who – like me — have been turned down by the private health insurers can opt for MRMIP (after a waiting period) and its less than adequate health care coverage. That said, most people’s private health insurance plans don’t cover much either. We need a public option for health care now! Ask for it!
Photo by sean dreilinger
The Tsing-Loh article was fascinating, to me, because it seems to suffer from the absolutely standard Baby Boomer disease: “I have this problem. How can I construct a justification to blame this problem on Society, instead of actually looking within myself and dealing with my own issues?”
While I don’t want to kick a man (or woman) while she’s down, the fundamental truth is that people, like money, rice, and cotton, are essentially fungible commodities. I would hold more respect for those who left their longtime husbands or wives if they did not immediately plunge into the very next doomed marriage afterwards. Long-term relationships are not the same thing as infatuations, and being pissed off at the institution of marriage for not being a constant puppy-love fueled fuck-fest is like being pissed off at a squash for not being a steak.
peterb’s last blog post..Premises Aren’t Books
Comment by peterb — June 26, 2009 @ 8:32 am
For those who missed the Tsing Loh article, here it is in The Atlantic. She’s had an affair and is getting divorced — and recommends you not get married:
“To work, to parent, to housekeep, to be the ones who schedule “date night,” only to be reprimanded in the home by male kitchen bitches, and then, in the bedroom, to be ignored—it’s a bum deal.”
I’m pretty sure she said what you (peterb) quoted tongue in cheek — and in fact if you read the article, she provides pretty good proof about how it is in fact a societal trend. I think the point she’s making is that yes, marriage takes work — but is it worth the work it takes?
She cites a Rutgers study that says only 38 percent of married people in America describe themselves as happy. The study I cite above says fewer than half are getting laid. If getting married means you’re most likely to end up unhappy and, barring an affair, practically celibate, then why take the leap?
I think she makes a pretty damn good point — and that she’s actually not doing what you say you dislike: plunging headlong into another marriage. In fact, she’s even warning others to steer clear of the institution, even when they feel the twinges of love. Perhaps she’ll recommend going for more short term puppy-love fueled fuck fests instead :) The single friend she talks about in the story seems to be the only one who actually likes her life — and the only one ever getting laid (except Tsing-Loh in her extramarital affair).
Relatedly: Just got my issue of Time magazine today. Cover story: “Unfaithfully Yours: Infidelity is eroding our most sacred institution. How to make marriage matter again.”
Comment by Siel — July 3, 2009 @ 6:18 pm