There's a new symbol of matrimony on the market: a ring with "I'm Married" stamped on the inside in backward letters. The result, of course, is that any time a spouse takes off the titanium wedding band, the world will see the stamped message left on the skin and then, well, proceed accordingly.
And it's become a subject of debate online. Some say this won't discourage carousing, but actually have the opposite effect by increasing a wayward husband's chance of infidelity: "Married men get more action," according to the website the Stir. Most, such as readers at BoingBoing, inevitably point out that it's akin to branding and therefore debasing. What man would be lowered to such a henpecked level is the general rhetorical question. The ring, it should be said, is relatively thick and therefore looks likes it's intended for a man.
Yet let's look at this from a different angle. How is this ultimately different from a man having "Doris" tattooed across his chest – or even just wearing a regular wedding band? A wedding ring (like a lover's tattoo) is as much a symbol of one's own life decisions as it is about the simple fact of marriage – a statement more than just: "I'm taken." Some men may, in fact, have no qualms in wearing the branding band, and who are we to question them?
Maybe the real solution is for a woman to let her husband go a little in terms of weight, thereby letting his fingers get a little chubbier so that he can no longer take his wedding ring off at all.
What do you think about the "I'm Married" band? Would you wear one? Would you ask your spouse to?