What if Marriage Is Bad for Us?

The authors explain their lack of enthusiastic support for gay marriage by saying it is the marriage part, not the gay part, of which they are skeptical. They see it as a modern middle class practice that may not be good for everyone. They address several common beliefs, asserting that marriage, contrary to popular belief, does not make you rich, but rather that people who get married tend to be wealthier and whiter to begin with. They note that marriage as currently practiced is traditional only since the late 1800s, when marriage became something other than an economic arrangement. They note that people who get married are not healthier than people who never marry, but both are healthier than those who divorce. They see more and more Americans finding marriage unhelpful to their needs.