It wasn't so long ago (1980, to be exact) that the average age of American women marrying for the first time was 22. Less than 30 years later, the average age for a first marriage has jumped to 26 for women and 28 for men. In a recent column for the Washington Post, Mark Regnerus argues that this trend is dangerous because women are putting off marriage during their most "marketable" years, before they have to "beg, pray, borrow and pay to reclaim" their fertility. He writes: "Marriages that begin at age 20, 21 or 22 are not nearly so … Read More

Just when we thought it was fine for a woman to marry at any age she damn-well pleased, some guy in Texas has come along to correct us.

And sadly, the guy is not just any guy, but a sociologist who teaches at a legitimate university (University of Texas-Austin) and publishes books that are considered academic (the latest is titled Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers).

His name is Mark Regnerus. And in a new piece for the Washington Post, he says that — while he sees no issue with the fact that men are marrying … Read More

It's Friday, that means it's time to link to my favorite stuff from the web this week. I promise that we will not once reference that crazy Korean girl who cut a swath through the hearts of Brooklyn's hipster population. Also, no pirate jokes; that ish is scary.

The LSU Reveille asks if college kids should wait to get married. At first, I thought they meant to have sex and I thought, "no, heavens no, unless it's a religion thing." And then read they were asking if you should get married before graduation. Strange things are afoot in Red … Read More

It is a beautiful November morning, let's get to the news.

Per the Northern Echo, the UK's Tory party is seeking to strengthen marriage. Step 1 is to make prenups binding in the world's divorce capital. Then they'd like to revoke some of the protections for cohabiting couples. Slippery slope, Tories.

On the topic of political parties, there is a new political reality in Australia: the Sex Party. According to Yahoo, it's almost exactly like you'd think it is. The party thinks things have gotten too conservative in Australia and demand change. We'd like to point … Read More

Type "First Dude" into Google, and you'll find, as I did, various sites hawking buttons, T-shirts, and bumper stickers emblazoned with "One Smoking Hot First Dude," "Todd's Babe," and "I'm voting for Todd!"

The last time we saw such a hormone-induced uproar over a political spouse was Dennis Kucinich's smoking-hot wife, Elizabeth. He gave scrappy, diminutive men everywhere a glimmer of hope. 

The hope baton has been passed to driven, powerful, alpha females. The ones who have been so unlucky in love, never able to keep a man. Outwardly, to her friends, she blames her time-starved, career-driven schedule ("I … Read More

With all the hoopla surrounding Bristol Palin, Love Buzz thought it time to look back on our coverage of teen pregnancy.

According to today's feature, The Pros and Cons of Marrying Young, pregnancy isn't a good reason to get hitched. "To marry simply because of a child seems to be a recipe for disaster. In fact, according to a 2007 study, only 17 percent of pregnant teenagers wed."

Even so, young Hollywood starlets have been popping out offspring at an alarming rate, leading us to wonder, are babies the new boyfriends?

Perhaps not, but boyfriends certainly … Read More

I can think of few things tackier than getting married live in Times Square -- but then again, I've got enough judgment not to have gone on an MTV reality show called Engaged & Underage.

Nikki Bryant, 18, and Josh Turner, 19, of Georgia met at their Baptist church when they were 14. This weekend the pair are saying their "I do's" live from New York. Couples marry live on TV all the time (anyone else used to love staying home from school sick and watching Live With Regis and Kathie Lee?) but usually they're not... … Read More

I have certain preconceived notions about people who marry their college sweethearts. It's not fair, I know, but I do.

Such people are conventional, conservative, and timid. They prefer comfort and routine to excitement. In other words, they're nothing like my wife and me.

Emily and I met on the first day of college. In our freshman dorm, full of Long Island sorority girls and future corporate lawyers, we were the only two people wearing dirty overalls and thrift-store flannels.

I had long hair and played guitar (badly), which was all the justification Emily needed for befriending … Read More