Marriage Is A Human Construct.

I considered posting this on Facebook, but quickly thought better of it. So why not post it on my blog, and THEN post it to Facebook. Amiright? Of course. So here it is:

I probably support gay marriage more than most people – certainly more than most people in North Carolina – but I have to say, I’m kind of over the “marriage as a human right” argument. Marriage is something we made up in our heads. I mean, think about it, initially marriage was just a transfer of property (daughter, dowry) between two families, usually to gain stature in the community. These days, it seems, it’s little more than a calculated risk made at a certain time in one’s life to fill expected roles and have a really awesome party. It’s not even a real thing, much less a human right. Like, I wouldn’t say that voting is a human right either. Voting is something we cooked up so we could elect a democratic government. It’s totally fake, like Columbus day. This is not to say that it doesn’t have importance or value, but, in my mind, it is not a human right.

Now, I spent a good deal of my parents’ money on my own wedding, and I produce wedding videos as a part-time job, and I was once married myself. I totally love weddings, and a happy union is life’s greatest blessing. That’s something that should be within everyone’s reach. The happy part is real. But the marriage part is completely made up.

Sorry to break it to everyone.

2 responses to “Marriage Is A Human Construct.”

  1. You said it well– it’s a construct. The only place where I disagree with you is whether or not voting is a fundamental human right. If you accept the idea of the Enlightenment’s Social Contract, legit authority of a state stems from the consent of the people in it to be governed by it. If the state doesn’t have legitimate authority, it’s oppressive. Voting’s really the only way to express that consent. But your central point is dead on– this talk about the sanctity of marriage is a red herring. It’s really about the benefits conferred by the status and not the (constructed) institution.

    Like

  2. I agree with you, sort of. It is made up. That being said, the pursuit of a happy life IS a human right. If making a public declaration/commitment is how you define happiness (as many do), then it sort of follows that marriage is a human right.

    I get your point though.

    Like

Leave a comment

Blog at WordPress.com.