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Marriage strike is a term usually used to describe a perceived reluctance on the part of one gender to marry or as a call to arms by activists imploring one gender not to marry. The reluctance or call to arms is generally based on a belief that the benefits of marriage are unfair for that gender though sometimes activist approaches are used as civil protests against other perceived injustices.
Use in the 20th Century edit
In 1911 the New York Times reported that Emma Goldman had called for a marriage strike by poor women in New York City in the U.S. until the men they marry were able to provide better conditions for them. Goldman blamed the inability of men in poorer neighborhoods to provide appropriate conditions on the "capitalistic system".[1]
Similarly in 1913 the Washington Post reported that Kate Barnard called on women in Oklahoma in the U.S. to refrain from marriage to protest child labor and housing provision for women and children.[2]
In the 1930s The New York Times used the term marriage strike to describe problems for the Nazi hausfrau policies intended to increase marriage and birth rates by encouraging marriages where women stayed home. At first used to indicate a general reluctance to marry, the term was later used (despite an increase in number of marriages) in association with divorce blamed on a falling quality of life for married women, and also as a potential civil protest hinted at by Mrs. Joachimi-Dege, a German feminist who objected to the role ascribed women by the hausfrau policies.[3][4][5]
In 1942 the New York Times reported that Indian Koli tribes planned to refrain from marriage as a form of civil protest against political oppression while under British rule. Unusually, in this instance the strike was intended as a protest by both genders.[6]
Use in the 21st Century edit
The declining marriage rate in Japan has been reported as a marriage strike by Japanese women.[7]
In the U.S., commentators like Wendy McElroy have called the decline in marriage rates there a marriage strike on the part of men. She ascribes their reluctance to marry to unfavorable treatment in divorce courts, especially in relation to child custody.[8]
References edit
- ^ Urges a Marriage Strike(PDF), New York Times, October 16 1911.
- ^ Marriage Strike Called, Washington Post, January 20 1913.
- ^ Nazi's Fail to Raise Matrimonial Rate(PDF), New York Times, September 2 1933.
- ^ Wives Spaak Out Against the Nazis(PDF), New York Times, August 13 1934.
- ^ Nazis Challenged on View of Women(PDF), New York Times, July 2 1935.
- ^ India's Kolis Plan Marriage 'Strike'(PDF), New York Times, September 10 1942.
- ^ James Brooke, A Tough Sell: Japanese Social Security, New York Times, May 6 2004.
- ^ Wendy McElroy, The Marriage Strike, Fox News, August 12 2003.