Jonathan Zimmerman: Alimony Myth Persists in New Jersey’s Divorce-Reform Drive

In 1935, Time magazine ran an article titled "Maniacal Wives." It actually focused on ex-wives, who were allegedly bleeding their former spouses dry out of a mix of greed and vindictiveness. According to the author, 69 percent of the ex-wives he studied were "suffering from psychoses bordering on sadism."

Spend a few minutes trolling through the blog posts of New Jersey divorce-reform activists, and you might conclude that vengeful women are still taking hapless men to the cleaners. The problem with this idea is that it’s not true. As in earlier eras, such claims speak to an animus against women — especially those in the workforce — rather than to the realities of gender and marriage in the United States.

The divorce controversy in New Jersey centers on permanent or "lifetime" alimony, which reformers want to eliminate. Massachusetts changed its laws to end lifetime alimony last year, tying payments to the length of a couple’s marriage and the finances of each ex-spouse. Florida’s Legislature is considering a similar measure, and activists in at least five other states are pressing for comparable reforms....