"You are NOT the father!"

I saw something in the grocery store today that made me stop dead in my tracks:


Woah. Wow. Err..... huh. For $150, in 3-5 days you can get the answer to the question that thousands of fools get up and air their dirty laundry on Maury for. No free trip to NYC, but hey.... I'd say that's a small sacrifice for your dignity.

(and notice it's displayed right next to a box of condoms. Oh the irony.)

This got me thinking about an article I recently read in Playboy reviewing the book "I Don't: A Contrarian History of Marriage" by Susan Squire. Here's a summary by Publisher's Weekly:


"In breezy, irreverent prose, Squire (The Slender Balance) catalogues the history and religious significance of the institution of marriage from Adam and Eve to the Renaissance and beyond. Writing as if gossiping with a girlfriend, Squire argues that marriage was developed to establish paternity by controlling the sex life of women. We learn that the men of Athens had hetaera (courtesans) to entertain them, concubines for their daily 'need' and wives with whom to breed legitimate children; the women of Rome, on the other hand, learned how to use their power to threaten male rule of society. The New Testament offers equality to husband and wife, at least in the marriage bed; the association of lust with Eve's original sin can be attributed to Augustine. Squire explores sixth-century penitentials on sexual sins, adultery in the Middle Ages and the intersection of wife and witch during the Renaissance inquisitions. Readers are left questioning whether our modern idea of love matches might end up as a chapter in a future book about the incarnations of marriage. 'Love may not be the answer, but for now, it is the story.'" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)


Interesting take on things..... marriage originally being designed to control the determination of paternity. I guess Identigene fucks THAT purpose all up.*

(*and please, spare me the "sacred union" comments about how we are intended to be with 1 person for all of eternity and beyond..... I know, I know. Whatever. It's a nice idea. Go delude yourself all you want..... go on.... I'll leave you alone while you do it. Just don't do it here.)