As I left my first marriage, these words were the words I needed. I knew “that” marriage was not one that I wanted, but I have been very reticent about getting myself into another, of any flavor. What the word marriage meant to me and what it has meant to the men in my life has been very different because of the culture and gender norms so explicitly taught to me and so many other girls of my generation. Thank you for this. I know there is a better way to live inside a committed relationship and I hope to find it.