I've been ringing this bell for some time now. Marriage is a bad deal for women. They gain some marginal financial advantages when they marry, but the man gains more, and the disparity increases over time. When it ends, the woman suffers more and loses more, while the man usually ends up better off post-divorce than he was when married.

The 50% divorce rate hides the really sad statistic, which is how many women are unhappy in their marriages but can't get out or realize that leaving would be even worse than what they've got.

Our economic system is designed to protect the patriarchy and preserve men's access to women's bodies. Until that changes, I would advise women to keep their alliances informal or else make them business partnerships.

The typical family of the future, I believe, is likely to be a group partnership that crosses generational lines, with multiple adults sharing domestic, parental, and financial responsibilities.