The Project viewers divided as Clementine Ford claims marriage 'enslaves women'

The Project viewers were left divided on Tuesday night when Clementine Ford appeared on the show to promote her new book I Don't: The Case Against Marriage, where she claims marriage "enslaves women".

"My biggest issue with marriage is that I think that it's a fundamentally flawed institution that is built on the oppression of women," she told the hosts. "I mean, it's a pretty big issue. But also that it's presented to people now as something that it never has been, which is something that we need in order to have happiness and love.

"Love marriage is only about 200 years old, so the idea that somehow marriage is an essential thing that will elevate our life to something better, is historically wrong and I think that we will be much better as people focusing on how to make ourselves happy, and how to live in accordance with our own values rather than thinking well I need to be married in order to be somebody in the world."

"In your book, you say that 'marriage enslaves women', is it as bad for blokes?" Sarah Harris questioned the author.

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Clementine responded, saying she believes marriage is largely "great for men", while women were left with a large burden inside of the relationship.

“One of the chief complaints a lot of women have about their husbands is that they don’t really feel like their husbands see them, all they are is kind of like a glorified all-in-one appliance for them,” she said.

Clementine added that she was "not at all against people falling in love and forming families", but urged people to consider whether they needed to get married in order to have significant relationships.

"If you have essentially all the same legal rights in a de facto relationship as you would in a marriage, what is the marriage and the piece of government paper giving you that relationship doesn’t?" she questioned, saying she is "deeply against the government having that level of control over people's relationships".

Host Waleed Aly then pointed out that the dynamics of de facto relationships are often similar to marriages, posing the question to her that marriage may not be the issue after all.

"It’s a good question Waleed, well maybe the plan is to go for de facto relationships next," she quipped. "My goal is to really get women to see something bigger and better for themselves than just being someone’s partner or wife."

The Project viewers share their thoughts

Viewers of the show were clearly divided on the matter on social media, with one male user writing, "Won't be reading this book. Completely uninterested in the opinion of this author."

"I am very happily married, because we both feel in love and wanted to build a life together, it's not doom and gloom and it certainly doesn't suppress women, when you're with a good man," one woman wrote.

"She claims we should be living by our own values and yet wants to tell people whose values include getting married that they are wrong," another user said.

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"Maybe read the book and see the research to fully understand how marriage has negatively impacted women," someone else suggested. "Whether it be in the uneven allocation of domestic labour, lack of financial independence, obligations to serve & obey husbands (less typical today but still applicable for some cultures) etc Clem’s research paints a vivid picture of how marriage has not served women well (historically and today)."

"I am happily married but I absolutely hear what she is saying & feel most points very valid," another wrote.

One user called Clementine an "absolute Queen", while others said they "so agree" with her, though some were less complimentary, with one saying it was "exhausting to watch".

With NCA Newswire.

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