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Ideas can change the world

Aeon is a registered charity committed to the spread of knowledge and a cosmopolitan worldview.
But we can’t do it without you.

Aeon is a registered charity committed to the spread of knowledge and a cosmopolitan worldview. Our mission is to create a sanctuary online for serious thinking.

No ads, no paywall, no clickbait – just thought-provoking ideas from the world’s leading thinkers, free to all. But we can’t do it without you.

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Marrying me

10 minutes

‘Getting married is an invention’: one woman’s choice to self-marry

When Jennifer Hoes married herself at a ceremony in Haarlem in The Netherlands in 2003, she became a minor tabloid sensation, portrayed by media outlets as, by turns, lonely, self-centered, and a laughing stock. But when viewed from Jennifer’s perspective 10 years later, the act transforms into a powerful expression of individuality, and an invitation for others to set their own path. In Marrying Me, Jennifer reflects on her decision, including how her father’s death when he was 30, influenced her, while arguing that people too often live according to arbitrary societal rules.

Director: Chloe White

Support Aeon

Ideas can change the world

Aeon is a registered charity committed to the spread of knowledge and a cosmopolitan worldview.

But we can’t do it without you.

Aeon is a registered charity committed to the spread of knowledge and a cosmopolitan worldview. Our mission is to create a sanctuary online for serious thinking.

No ads, no paywall, no clickbait – just thought-provoking ideas from the world’s leading thinkers, free to all. But we can’t do it without you.

Become a Friend for $5 a month or Make a one-off donation

Essay/
Neurodiversity
The autism paradox

How an autism diagnosis became both a clinical label and an identity; a stigma to be challenged and a status to be embraced

Bonnie Evans

Essay/
Gender & Sexuality
The non-binary brain

Misogynists are fascinated by the idea that human brains are biologically male or female. But they’ve got the science wrong

Emily Willingham