emmanuel reynaud holy virility the social construction of masculinity

7
MARRIAGE
For man, marriage represents a balance between daddy and
rapist; legitimate private appropriation, which enables him to
take a woman for his varied daily needs. With this acquisition he
guarantees himself virtually unlimited use of his wife: she will
tirelessly look after his needs, those of his family and his
property; she will produce and rear his children, satisfy his
sexual drives; sometimes she is even a symbol of his success.
By giving his name to a woman he has chosen, and by (more or
less) providing her with board and lodging, man offers himself
the daily possibility of putting his feet up, putting on shirts
which have been washed and ironed, breathing the atmosphere
of a well-polished home, watching his offspring grow up, having
sex at will, and possibly of showing his wife off in front of his
friends. But in seeking to use a woman in this way for his
exclusive benefit, he withdraws her from public circulation
―she is no longer 'available' for others― and in so doing he
creates a situation of conflict within the man class.
The measures men take to restrict tension between themselves
and guarantee each one's private property are many and they
vary according to different eras and regions. One of the first
provisions is usually to codify appropriation by law or by
custom; this is usually expressed in a limit on the number of
allowed appropriations at the same time by one man. In certain
societies it may be possible to have two, three, four wives or
more; but Judeo-Christian patriarchy, with the exception of the
Mormons, only permits one. Further appropriations are not
covered by law and can even lead to judicial proceedings. And
so, whereas polygamy held a place of honour among the
ancient Hebrews, it is usually punishable by law in modern
Western society; similarly the corruption of a minor (a woman
who belongs to her father), or borrowing a married woman (a
woman who belongs to her husband) are forbidden.
[Marriage / 87]
However, legislation pertaining to marriage reflects
contradictions within the man class and the antagonism
between the sexes. The most flagrant paradox is that of the
equality between husband and wife proclaimed by ideology and
the reality of the appropriation of women sanctioned by law.
This ambivalence, which is perpetuated today, appears at the
foundation of the Christian church. In 55 DD Paul, one of the
most important early Christian missionaries, taught that 'The