“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.”

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.

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