New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that raised the age of consent to marriage from 14 to 18—making New York only the sixth state in the U.S. to end child marriage.
Tag: Marriage
Intersex People in the Past and Present: “Contemporary Advocacy in Historical Context”
Physicians still offer parents genital “repair” for intersex children with the misguided supposition that “fixing” their bodies will lead to happier lives—even though countless intersex adults have expressed the wish that medical authorities had not intervened.
AMC’s ‘Kevin Can F**k Himself’ Deconstructs the Sitcom and Liberates Its Women
AMC’s new drama “Kevin Can F**k Himself” upends the “sitcom wife” trope we all know and hate. When Allison—or Kevin—leaves the room, the lighting gets darker, the camera angle shifts, and suddenly, Allison is no longer a supporting character but rather the star, increasingly frustrated with her life and role.
From the Vault: “Click! The Housewife’s Moment of Truth” (Spring 1972)
In honor of Women’s History Month and to pay tribute to five decades of reporting, rebelling and truth-telling, Ms. is launching a new series: From the Vault. Tune in every #ThrowbackThursday for some of our favorite feminist classics from the last 50 years of Ms.
“The women looked at each other, and click! The shock of recognition… One little click turns on a thousand others. … In the end, we are all housewives, the natural people to turn to when there is something unpleasant, inconvenient or inconclusive to be done.”
The Inhibition Myth: What ‘Losing Alice’ Gets Wrong About Older Women
“Losing Alice”‘s implicit message is that younger women are intrinsically freer, more uninhibited, than older ones. But today, as a middle-aged wife and mother, I feel much freer in every way that matters.
Among other things, I no longer feel I have to perform for a male gaze: Only now do I understand how exhausting such performance was.
Better Start Opening Your Husband’s Mail, Ladies
Economic Impact Payments (EIP) to American families started rolling out at the end of December, but there’s a big surprise in store for eligible tax-paying women who file jointly with a male spouse: your check will likely be addressed to your husband only.
For most women in straight couples, this invisibility isn’t new or surprising. As humans, as citizens, as tax payers, and as bread winners, we’re used to being regarded as someone else’s appendage.
Rabbis on Why They Will Officiate Queer Marriage, as Obergefell Sits in Jeopardy
I don’t know if this Supreme Court session will take a case that could overturn marriage equality before Hannah Ruth and I are ready. But I know that there are hundreds of rabbis who are willing, able and even excited about meeting us where we’re at when the time is right.
Divorce Could Spell Economic Disaster for Women During the Pandemic
The pandemic is undoing decades of progress, reinforcing a breadwinner/homemaker division of labor for all too many women. When rising divorce rates get added to the mix, history teaches us the combination can be volatile.
There’s a Simple Solution to End Child Marriage in North Carolina
New studies by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) reveal the grim consequences of child marriage in the U.S., which occurs at particularly high rates in North Carolina. North Carolina is becoming a common destination for adults to take children when their marriage is illegal in their home states. Between 2000 and 2015, almost 9,000 minors were listed on marriage license applications in North Carolina.
But there’s a simple solution: Set the minimum age of marriage at 18, without exceptions.
Tools of the Patriarchy: The Naming Tool
“Tools of the Patriarchy” is a biweekly column on the tools that establish men’s dominance in society, or, in other words, uphold the patriarchy. Whether or not these tools are used intentionally, they contribute to a world in which women are not equal to men.
The naming tool is a long-standing tradition dictating that after marriage, a woman should give up her birth name and take on her husband’s last name. Children also frequently take their father’s last name, carrying the tradition on into the next generation.