Melissa Harris-Lacewell, an associate professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University, has written an interesting and provocative piece on marriage at The Nation.

Using as a springboard the issue of gay marriage and several recent events – including the marriage of feminist author and blogger Jessica Valenti, Frances Smith Foster’s forthcoming book, ‘Til Death or Distance Do Us Part: Love and Marriage in African America, and the Louisiana justice of the peace who refused to marry an interracial couple—Harris-Lacewell covers a lot of history and interesting territory.  Along the way, she writes:

Marriage is now a minority lifestyle among black people. African American women in all socioeconomic categories are the group least likely to marry, most likely to divorce, and most likely to bear and rear children alone. And although marriage has fallen most precipitously among black people, it has declined throughout the United States. Since 1970, marriage rates in the United States have dropped more than 15% overall, and divorce rates have climbed steadily during this same time.

Fewer people who can marry are choosing to do so. More people who do marry are choosing to exit. This is not solely about selfish individuals unwilling to sacrifice for joint commitment. Marriage itself is still bolstered by a troubling cultural mythology, a history of domination, and a contemporary set of gendered expectations that render it both unsatisfying and unstable for many people.

In short, despite the fierce battles for marriage, contemporary heterosexual marriage is a bit of a mess. The current state of straight marriage is a reminder that simply having the right to marry is not sufficient to generate social equality, create economic stability, or ensure personal fulfillment. Marriage is a crucial civil right, but not a panacea. Even as progressives fight for marriage equality for same-sex couples, we need also to reflect on marriage as a social and political institution in itself.

Our work must be not just about marriage equality, it should also be about equal marriages, and about equal rights and security for those who opt out of marriage altogether.

Be sure to read the entire essay.