The mainstream media's campaign against traditional marriage sunk to new depths on NBC's October 11 "Today." Anchor Ann Curry teased a nearly seven-minute piece [1] on the rapid increase of single women in society by touting "a new spin on romance, dating, and what some are calling the end of traditional marriage."
And that was just the opening.
NBC Correspondent Jenna Wolfe gushed: "A new report says more women are choosing to be single and loving every minute of it."
Translation: Men are not needed for a modern, educated woman to be happy and fulfilled. Get rid of the useless deadbeats.
Denigration of men was sprinkled throughout the segment. Wolfe quoted "author and single woman" Kate Bolick: "A major factor [in the rise of single women] is the rise of women in the workplace. As women have climbed ever higher, men have been falling behind. So instead of marrying down, women choose to be single and successful."
Translation: Chances are any guy you meet isn't as professionally successful as you. Why bother with the loser long-term?
NBC brought Bolick onto the show, where she argued: "Today marriage is an option, it's not a necessity, the way it once was."
Bolick wrote a piece in the Atlantic [2] titled "All the Single Ladies," which detailed how more and more women were choosing to permanently remain single, because of the decrease in eligible men. Bolick's piece referenced another Atlantic article, titled "The End of Men," [3] which chronicled the rise of women in society at the expense of men.
Beverly Hills therapist and author Sarah Brokaw (daughter [4] of former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw) joined the parade of singlehood cheerleaders, saying "I have not been married, and I don't have kids, and I sit back and think: 'Well what have I really accomplished if I haven't reached those traditional milestones?' And the way that I look at being accomplished is to have a real sense of curiosity about life."
The Today report also quoted "successful screenwriter" Maria Maggenti, "single by choice," who touted the virtues of singlehood: "I'm single. I'm happy. My life is filled with love, and friends, and - and family, and - and good work that I love."
Is there a downside to this trend? Probably, but "Today" wasn't letting on. The piece included no dissenting opinions and, perhaps in the spirit of the piece, not one man appeared in the segment, either. It was essentially a feminist infomercial.
When interviewing Bolick and psychiatrist Dr. Janet Taylor, Curry did venture one tentative caveat to this glorious feminist vision, noting: "if this is really true then we're choosing it with a lot of emotional struggle." But Taylor immediately shot her down: "I think that's the old paradigm. I think more women are not choosing it with heavy emotional struggle. In fact, they're choosing it with emotional contentment."
"Today" approvingly quoted Bolick: "It's time to embrace new ideas about romance and family - and to acknowledge the end of 'traditional' marriage as society's highest ideal."
It's the brave new feminist world, where marriage is a matter of convenience, and men are irrelevant. Wolfe noted the decrease in the percentage of married men and women in society: "Research shows that marriage is declining in the United States: According to the Census Bureau in 2010, 50 percent of the adult population was single, compared to 33 percent of the adult population back in 1950."
Ann Curry joked at the end of the segment: "So George Clooney [who famously swore off marriage [5]] was right."
At least, we think it was a joke.