Husband-Free Film

Hot off the presses -- OK, I'm about one month behind, but what can I say? It's summer and I will always love biking more than blogging -- a documentary about 30-something single women being happy without a hubby is in the works! Check it out at www.seekinghappilyeverafter.com -- I am impressed, excited, and hopeful that the film's producer-people will check out How to Be Husband-Free!

(A big Husband-Free holler to Kristin for alerting me to this one!)

The only (minor) disappointment in the website promoting this exciting venture is in the section that provides bios for the many creators -- and it's the same problem that persists in other media, especially books -- and that is mentioning marital status. Why?

OK, people are nosy, they want to know, or be able to feel like they *know* the director, writer, producer -- but what does one's marital status really say about anyone, especially in relation to a work they are producing, whether it is visual or written (unless, of course, the work is autobiographical)? Does being married (or not) make one a better (or worse) director or editor? Does being married (or not) make one more (or less) able to describe or comment upon a social trend like Husband-Freedom with intelligence and credibility? It seems to me that including marital status in biographical profiles is the back-door equivalent of the using "Mrs." Haven't we moved past a place where we need to categorize and be categorized according to whether or not we have legal rights and responsibilities attached to our romances?

I Don't

Yes, it's true -- yet another book casting a critical look at the institution of matrimony! "I Don't -- A Contrarian History of Marriage" by Susan Squire is next on my list, so look for a review in this space relatively soon -- but in the meantime, reviews in more conventional media outlets have been very positive. An added bonus is the very excellent cover -- I won't spoil it with a description, check it out at your local library or bookstore. I will mention, however, that the cover photo reminds me of a joke:

Q: What does a woman say to a man while they are having sex?

A: It depends.

If the woman is a prostitute, she says "Leave the money on the nightstand."

If the woman is the man's girlfriend, she says "Oh baby, just like that, YES!!!"

And if the woman is the man's wife, she says "Beige."

"I think I'll paint the ceiling beige."