Moving Past Marriage: Why We Should Ditch Marital Privilege, End Relationship-Status Discrimination, and Embrace Non-Marital History Geller Jaclyn

A must-read for anyone who has felt they are at a disadvantage simply because they are single or unmarried.Married Americans enjoy over 1,000 benefits and entitlements that are withheld from our non-marital counterparts. Marriage is subsidized and incentivized by the federal government. Health insurance, immigration rights, tax privileges (such as the estate tax), and hiring policies favor the married.

Why?Moving Past Social customs such as blockbuster weddings, subsidized honeymoons, and gifts reserved for wedded couples reify matrimony as a centering norm and further the idea that "marriage is best," a commonplace in popular psychology, where marriage-averse people are often tarred as "commitment-phobes." Despite this blatant and widespread prejudice, non-marital Americans -- non-marital people -- have not galvanized as a group to demand equality and inclusion.