Single equality in the age of marriage equality

Abstract

The twenty-first century has witnessed the rise of a new constitutional jurisprudence of marriage which extends the institution of marriage to include same-sex couples in the name of equality, freedom, and dignity, and an accompanying trend of constitutionalizing marital supremacy. Progressive critics have voiced against the constitutional treatment of marriage as the ideal family form, proposing various approaches to promote equality for diverse families. The inequality of single women without children, however, has not yet received the attention that it deserves in the jurisprudence of non-marriage, despite the globally growing phenomenon of women opting out of marriage and other formal unions and living a legally single life. It is argued that the move beyond marriage equality must include the pursuit of single equality, that is, equal citizenship unmediated by marital, relational, family, or parental status. It is suggested that a feminist agenda of single equality is needed even more, and that public laws’ active role is required to facilitate single equality.