[linguistbreaker]

"Places like Alabama, practically the only way women can get ahead is to either move out of state or keep marrying up."

This sounds like an assumption that a woman could not have a career or get ahead of her own accord without relying on a man. Is that the thrust or did I misinterpret? And if so is it because the culture of that state is so patriarchal that a woman cannot have opportunities? I'm American but I haven't been to Alabama.

[vinceguidry]

Brain drain from the rural areas to urban ones is extremely real and is only getting more serious. It's an economic problem created by politics that lands on women harder. Marriage laws are patriarchal culture's answer to this. The mindset goes, "real men provide and care for their family and if they can't, it must be their fault." Cruelty is a feature, not a bug, and they're more than willing to apply it indiscriminately.