"A new story about an old lie"--Cover.

Includes reading list.

Includes bibliographical references.

Introduction -- Something old. In the beginning; Cat lady; Spinister city; A womb of one's own -- Something new. Put a ring on it; The happiest day of her life; Honey, you're home -- Something borrowed. Your father's name; Chelsea mourning; The protection racket; When you wish upon a star -- Something blue. Trouble and strife, comedy wife; All the light he cannot see; The price of entry; Motherfucker -- Epilogue: the princess saves herself.

"Why, when there is so much evidence of the detrimental, suffocating impact marriage has on women's lives, does the myth of marital bliss still prevail? If the feminist project has been so successful, why do so many women still believe that our value is intrinsically tied to being chosen by a man? In her most incendiary and controversial book to date, Clementine Ford exposes the lies used to sell marriage to women to keep them in service to men and male power. From the roots of marriage as a form of property transaction to the wedding industrial complex, Clementine Ford explains how capitalist patriarchal structures need women to believe in marriage in order to maintain control over women's agency, ambitions and freedom. I Don't presents an inarguable case against marriage for modern women. With the incisive attention to detail and razor-sharp wit that characterises her work, Ford dissects the patriarchal history of marriage; the insidious, centuries-long marketing campaign pop culture has conducted in marriage's favour; the illusion of feminist 'choice' in regard to taking men's names; and the physical and social cost that comes with motherhood. But most importantly, Clementine Ford shows us what a different kind of world could look like for women if we were allowed to be truly free."--Publisher's website.