Marriage prescription offensive and scientifically unsound
I found Bob Brody’s “prescription to marry” offensive. It perpetuates the myth that marriage makes people healthier and happier. There is no scientific research to support that claim. Yes, there is plenty of research that seems to indicate that married folks are happier and healthier than unmarried but all of that research is highly flawed. Most importantly, it fails to show causation, something that can only be shown scientifically with properly designed experiments, which would not be ethical in the case of marriage. However, a close approximation can be longitudinal studies, studies that follow people over a long period of time and assess, for example, their health and happiness every 5 years together with their marital status. Based on those studies, it turns out that there is little support that married people are happier and/or healthier because they are married. The evidence is just not there. Clearly, Mr. Brody’s suggestion mixes up correlation with causation. Is he going to prescribe next buying an expensive luxury car to increase wealth? Well, his prescription for marriage to extend our life span is just as absurd.
I look forward reading an apology to all unmarried people from Mr. Brody together with an explanation of why there is no evidence supporting his prescription!
You can reach the health desk at health@washpost.com
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I wish I could take credit for the term “matrimania” but Bella DePaulo came up with it…
That’s a good point – it’s hard sometimes to tell if someone is joking or not and everyone also has the right to find it not funny – I have a pretty good sense of humour but there are some things I just don’t find funny under any context. I remember watching Saturday Night Live and they did a “Weekend Update” skit with the blind N.Y. politician (I think he’s the mayor, I am not familiar with U.S. politics). Anyway, the guy is blind and they were making fun of him and I just thought it was awful—not funny at all in my opinion.
I agree with you completely regarding matrimania – I love that term!
I guess this thing just hit a nerve. There is a quote from the RAND Center that seems to give it scientific credibility. Plus, this “satire” wasn’t funny because it utilizes the exact same arguments that the US government uses to promote marriage, which it was fed by the Religious Wrong. So, the supposedly satirical parts have been used way too often to support matrimania. And that’s not funny.
Then, again, this whole thing reminds me of the flack Roger Ebert got when he posted a Creationism satire that all too many too seriously.
Lady have you actually read this article? It’s a joke, it’s satire. He’s saying that married people do not live longer, it only feels like it. The whole article is supposed to be funny. He writes about arguing about a toilet seat. Be offended by the humour, but don’t expect an apology regarding scientific evidence – there is none and he doesn’t quote any!
Example: He writes “Long-term use, in conjunction with a low-fat diet and regular aerobic exercise, may lead to trust, intimacy and contentment, as well as an unprecedented ability to bend over backward. ”
I thought it was pretty funny.