Thanks for reading and responding Nickolas. “Wife” and “husband” are not just convenient labels. No matter how, in our private lives and homes, I am not a traditional wife and you are not a traditional husband, you will be viewed and reacted to through the societal lens of what those words mean. And “wife” is quite loaded.

As I wrote before, even gay partners are asked “So, who’s the woman and who’s the man in your marriage?” It means that even today, when couples marry with the desire to have an equal partnership, we still think of marriage in terms of a woman’s role — aka “wife” — and a man’s role — aka “husband.”