https://t.inks.page/wiki/Ellen_Willis Follow any website on Inks inks.page https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ellen_Willis?t=2026-04-05 To regard marriage and singleness simply as “options,” or even as situations equally favorable to men and oppressive to women, misses the point. The institution of the family, and the people who enforce its rules and uphold its values, define the lives of both married and single people, just as capitalism defines the lives of workers and dropouts alike. The family system divides us up into insiders and outsiders; as insiders married people are more likely to identify with the established order, and when they do they are not simply expressing a personal preference but taking a political stand. The issue, finally, is whether we have the right to hope for a freer, more humane way of connecting with each other. Defenders of the family seem to think that we have already gone too far, that the problem of this painful and confusing time is too much freedom. I think there’s no such thing as too much freedom — only too little nerve. ("The Family: Love It or Leave It" 1979)]]> Sun, 05 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT