No Surprises Today

More support for the claim that egalitarian marriages are happier, as well as more just, can be found in an article in the New York Times: “Over all, the evidence shows that the shifts within marriages — men taking on more housework and women earning more outside the home — have had a positive effect, contributing to lower divorce rates and happier unions.” The full story is here. “Women no longer need to marry up educationally or economically, so they are more likely to pick men who support a more egalitarian relationship,” said Stephanie Coontz, director of research and education for the Council on Contemporary Families and author of “Marriage, A History: How Love Conquered Marriage.” The thesis that women who earn as much as more as their partners, and thus have real exit options and can bargain for more egalitariam terms of engagement, is best articulated in my favourite book about marriage and the division of child care and housework, Kidding Ourselves: Breadwinning, Babies, and Bargaining Power
by Rhona Mahony.