I’ve been in a stable relationship for a while now so naturally the idea of being married to that person comes up. But I just can’t think of any argument in favour of it.

1. The government is discussing equalising tax groups, so unmarried individuals are no longer disadvantaged compared to married couples.

2. I engage in a contract with high risk. If I don’t get my legalese right, I risk forfeiting a sizeable portion of my belongings when the contract comes to an end. High risk should entail high reward but in fact I don’t see any reward.

3. Getting married changes nothing about the relationship. Until recently, the government didn’t even recognise same sex marriages. So if a straight couple gets married, should that make their relationship more valid because the government decides to put a stamp of approval on theirs and not on a gay couple? I hope not.

I’ve tried putting myself in other roles to imagine why I would want to get married. This is what I came up with:

1. I like labelling things and I like the sound of the label “married”
2. I want a big party called “marriage ceremony” that other people also understand as “marriage ceremony” (as opposed to just any party)
3. I like the way married couples are portrayed in films and books (Ignoring the fact that in real life, a lot of marriages are unhappy, dysfunctional and draining until they end up in divorce).