If marriage is such an exploitative catastrophe, how come there are so many same-gender couples who want nothing more than to have the right to be legally married?

Furthermore, is there anything wrong with a couple in a relationship wanting to make a life-long commitment to each other, promising (however unrealistically) to stay together even through times that are tough and unpleasant, in the hope and belief that staying together over the long run achieves deeper intimacy than would otherwise be possible?

Good Lord, people do as much when they get a tattoo!

Regardless of the historical or etymological baggage of the word “marriage”, surely it is not reasonable to argue that it is somehow wrong for two reasonable human beings (with or without similar or different genders, whatever those might be) to voluntarily make and keep such a commitment to each other.

Of course, there is the all-powerful, patriarchal Y-chromosome, which is surely the source of all that dominance. But biologically, it seems that the Y chromosome is pretty tiny, compared to all the others. Obviously, it has non-trivial impact on how a person comes out.

But I seriously doubt that it would be possible to breed physical and mental frailty into females but not the males of the human species. There would simply be too much “leakage” of any trait you wanted to segregate over to the other sex.

(Caveats: I am not a biologist. There certainly are other species with huge biological asymmetries between sexes, so I apply this only to humans. And, once we get sufficiently clever with genetic manipulation, we might be able to figure out how to do it. Sigh.)

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/natural

It would take very few generations for women to be husbanded into physical and mental frailty. Pitch an inquisition every now and then and viola’, “evolution” is speeded up. Ever since you boys lost your legal right to breed women like brood mares, choosing only those smaller and weaker than males, you’ve been going nuts trying to mindfuck them into weakness instead.

So, plastic is natural now. That’s some of that there post-modern stuff, ain’t it? Where words mean anything the speaker wants them to mean, cock Webster.

It’s the nature v. nurture argument. Natural selection evolved the natural human body. Patriarchy bred traits that are about to end our existence. Such as males who have too little brains riding around in too big a body. Continued human existence is irrelevant to the patriarchy if it means the end of male dominance. It’s bottom line is men not survival.

Sure, it was. Our bodies are the result of evolution. As a result, we have traits that came from past generations. Whether we need them for survival is irrelevant to their existence.

I’m not playing fast and loose with “natural”. I simply don’t believe anything exists that isn’t natural. Even plastic.

Now paradox, patriarchy love it to death. So, was that the royal “we,” finnsmotel? We love our body and our mind. We don’t feel trapped there at all. Our mind nor body was naturally born with the baggage of past generations. It was un-naturally imposed.

You boys have played fast and lose with the word “natural” for centuries now when it comes to defining what women are and/or should be.

At this point in time, patriarchy is part of our nature. Can that change? Yeah. Should it change? Yeah. Nature changes.

Whether parts of patriarchy are born into our bodies or forced into our minds via culture, it is part of nature. Everything is.

“Imagine”

The paradox of human life is that we aspire to live a life that we imagine while trapped in bodies and minds that were born with the baggage of past generations.

“guy who wrote (or, more accurately, took credit for writing) “Woman Is The Nigger Of The World.””

Same guy had problems with relationships just like everyone else.

“Also, look up the word “egalitarianism” in the dictionary.”

Thanks for the condescension.

Etymology: New Latin, singular of Latin pudenda, from neuter plural of pudendus, gerundive of pudEre to be ashamed
: the external genital organs of a human being and especially of a woman — usually used in plural

In other words, woman = walking, talking shame.

There are vastly more people, and you know which people I’m talking about, who aren’t. Please, tell me which facets of patriarchy are flawless.

And:
“If the patriarchy were destroyed tomorrow”

Tantamount to a rip in the space-time continuum; I can’t imagine what would happen to all our relationships. I’m not capable of imagining.

But, in the current paradigm, we’re doing the best we can.

We who? If women were no longer treated like toilets, there goes the space-time continuum itself? Patriarchy’s just a crap system, not nature itself for fucksake. Could strain yer brainpan but, imagine. There’s a song by the same name that might help you out a tad. Same guy who wrote (or, more accurately, took credit for writing) “Woman Is The Nigger Of The World.” Also, look up the word “egalitarianism” in the dictionary.

The arguments for same-sex marriage include being able to take advantage of the benefits such as health care insurance, tax breaks, inheritance, parental rights, etc. Ask yourself why these benefits aren’t available to one and all? Tell me what the hell church and state is doing interjecting themselves in people’s relationships?

“For Mar Iguana, is it even possible for marriage to equal partnership?” Acer

Nope. Too much bad baggage. Not when a marriage license is little more than the boys’ pink slip on the guaranteed sex they just bought. And, boy howdy, how ’bout them extras. People won’t think a he’s a homosexual. He’ll make more money and rise further and faster in the workplace because he has a family to support by gaud. He’ll only have to occasionally baby-sit his little tax deductions. Or not. He can feel all magnanimous if he helps out with the woman’s work. Kick those tires.

From Webster’s Collegiate:

husband, Etymology: Middle English husbonde, from Old English husbonda master of a house, from Old Norse husbOndi, from hus house bOndi householder; akin to Old Norse bua to inhabit; akin to Old English buan to dwell — more at BOWER
1 : a male partner in a marriage
2 British : MANAGER, STEWARD
3 : a frugal manager

wife, Etymology: Middle English wif, from Old English wIf; akin to Old High German wIb wife and probably to Tocharian B kwIpe female pudenda
1 a dialect : WOMAN b : a woman acting in a specified capacity — used in combination
2 : a female partner in a marriage

I now pronounce you steward and pudenda.