Over half of American households are headed by an unmarried person. Are you wedded to the idea that spouses should have more rights?

Mention unmarried households, and most Americans envision “Sex and the City” or “Friends,” or, for an older generation, The Odd Couple. These are exceptions to the rule that most Americans live in family units headed by a mom and dad, right?
Wrong. Today, more than half of America’s over 111 million households are headed by a single person: someone who is divorced, widowed or living with roommates or alone. And, about 12 million of those legally single Americans are living with a partner to whom they are not married. Four out of ten of those couples have children.
That radical transformation of what is “normal” is starting to percolate through American society. Fortune 500 companies are rapidly granting benefits formerly reserved for married couples to those living together, but who haven’t tied the knot.
The U.S. Army is moving to provide almost equal housing benefits to singles. And the Maryland legislature just voted to let partners in committed relationships make medical decisions for each other, and other states are also changing laws that were built for a different era.
However, there continues to be a wide gap between how married and unmarried Americans are treated.
The new unmarried majority has spawned a new group of advocates. Organizations like The Alternatives to Marriage Project and Unmarried America are leading the charge against laws and policies that favor the married. They argue that disparities baked into American law make second-class citizens of those many millions who are not married.

In our interactive rollover graphic, learn who exactly makes up the new unmarried majority.Unmarried…with Kids
Women without husbands who are raising families comprise the second largest category of singles, accounting for 14 million households. This includes divorced women, who most frequently receive custody of their children, as well as never-married women with children.

Living Alone
According to the Census Bureau’s 2006 American Community Survey, 30.6 million households are singles living alone. Singles account for 27 percent of all households, up from 5 percent 30 years ago.
This growth reflects several factors: people are marrying later, divorcing more and living longer. According to the National Institute on Aging, over 10.5 million people over the age of 65 now live alone. This group will continue to grow, as will the retirement communities and assisted living facilities where many now reside.

Roommates or Partners
The Census Bureau reported in 2006 that almost 6 percent of all households consisted of unrelated roommates, which translates into about 6.6 million households. Over nine million people defined their roommates as “unmarried partners” of the opposite sex, and 1.2 million Americans are cohabiting with a same-sex significant other.

Who’s Left?
The largest chunk of the remaining 5.1 million households (4.6 percent) is same-sex households with children, who total roughly 2.3 million. The rest are men raising children without a wife (there were 1.7 million as of 2000) or siblings living together without parents (about 700,000).

Watch two influential activists in the marital benefits debate explain their two opposing viewpoints.
Fair or Unfair?
Married couples have over 1,000 rights that unmarried couples don’t. Should it be this way?
Take our test to determine how fair or unfairly you think singles are being treated in terms of rights.