You’ll Do Audiobook Libro.fm

An illuminating and thoughtprovoking examination of the uniquely American institution of marriage from the Colonial era through the MeToo age

Perfect for fans of Rebecca Solnit and Rebecca Traister

Americans hold marriage in such high esteem that we push people toward it reward them for taking part in it and fetishize its benefits to the point that we routinely ignore or excuse bad behavior and societal ills in the name of protecting and promoting it

In eras of slavery and segregation Blacks sometimes gained white legal status through marriage

Laws have been designed to encourage people to marry so that certain societal benefits could be achieved the population would increase women would have financial security children would be cared for and immigrants would have familial connections

As late as the Great Depression poor young women were encouraged to marry aged Civil War veterans for lifetime pensions

The widely overlooked problem with this tradition is that individuals and society have relied on marriage to address or dismiss a range of injustices and inequities from gender and racebased discrimination sexual violence and predation to unequal financial treatment

One of the most persuasive arguments against womens right to vote was that marrying and influencing their husbands choices was just as meaningful if not better

Through revealing storytelling Zug builds a compelling case that when marriage is touted as the solution to such problems it absolves the government and society of the responsibility for directly addressing them