"Put a Ring on it" says Brian Wilcox at NRO, "Wrong" says Robert Franklin at NPO

Robert Franklin at National Parents Organization takes apart Brian Wilcox’s argument at NRO that men should “put a ring on it” because married men are healthier, wealthier, and happier with their sex lives:

I try to like Wilcox because he has some sensible words to say about marriage and its benefits to men. The data he cites are accurate to the best of my knowledge and his message is sound as far as it goes. But in the recent past, I’ve had occasion to excoriate him for denigrating men while resolutely ignoring not only what they say and why they say it, but altogether pertinent facts as well.

And so it is in the linked-to piece. Once again Wilcox’s article is all about the benefits of marriage to men. He cites three areas in which married men on average do better than their unmarried peers – money, sex and physical and mental health. So, according to him, unmarried men should improve their prospects in life and, as his piece is entitled, “Put a Ring on It”….

That said, it’s hard to conclude that Wilcox gets it yet. The deficiencies of his article are many and they all tend in the same direction – the criticism of men and the strategic elision of important facts.

You can read Franklin’s takedown of Wilcox’s piece here.