Her appraisal meshed with the spirit of the day, and it stuck. They cite a robust new literature that shows marriage is good for both men and women, markedly better than being single, cohabiting, or getting divorced. Married people have more satisfying sexual lives, both physically and emotionally. They live significantly longer, healthier, happier lives and recover more quickly from illness. They are much less likely to slap, hit, and abuse each other than some have suggested.
Marriage protects men and women from suicide and mental illness as well.
And it is exactly the same for women as for men. Further, men and women who are married earn more money than their unmarried counterparts of any category and advance more quickly in their jobs. They find that people who are lovingly nagged are more inclined to exchange bad habits for good because they have a greater reason, beyond their self-interest, to change behavior. The research does not show these positive outcomes for long-term cohabiting relationships. Or to translate it into another system, it is because men and women are created in the image of the Trinity, which is intrinsically intimate and relationally exclusive.