By Josefine Cook
According to the latest statistics, the number of marriages that took place in 2015 in the UK was the lowest on record following, a long-term decline since the early 1970s.
Although we seem to be seeing more people thanks to dating apps, we are not tying the knot as often as our parents.
In this age of female empowerment, women and men are speaking out about what is and isn't feminist.
We've established that wearing make-up or cooking for someone is irrelevant to core feminist values, but what about marriage?
Can a truly feminist woman get married without contradicting her beliefs?
Modern Western culture generally believes in the fairy-tale concept of "happily ever after" – "a married couple puts the relationship above all competing ties, they owe their highest obligations and deepest loyalties to each other and should be sexually faithful to each other" says Stephanie Coontz in her book Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage.
But historically, marriage has not been the product of love, but of a weird patriarchal system of mixing "good blood" families or securing a "nice, comfortable life" for the son of a powerful family.
Although today marital contracts and weddings can be altered and customised to a couple's specific (feminist?) needs, the trend for a woman to take her husband's last name is still prevalent.
Is this not a symbol of abandoning herself to become the husband's…"property"?
The fact remains that marriage will always mean tying two people together. Forever. Unless they file for divorce some 10 years later…
Perhaps it is not an issue of feminism, but an issue of human instincts. Is it even natural to remain monogamous for one's entire life?
Feminists can get married. But they should give some thought to what it can mean to give up their family name, their freedom and financial independence.
Comentários