An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman drinking beer in a bar.

Actually, we were an Australian, and African and a Chinese man drinking green tea. In the Chinaman's office.

So, we are all happily married with children (2, 2 and 1 apiece), wanting, and able to support, more. (The Chinese man can have two with the softening of the one child policy.) However, our wives all think having more is too much work for them. So it seems that getting married means we have simply given away our right to decide how many children we can have.

Except for the African who said that in his country the man can have children with another woman. He just has to compensate his wife by giving her some gold. About an ounce will do.

The following day, he also told me that even this wasn't really necessary. This is as it should be. If a man supports his children within the marriage and wants more than the woman, she should not be able to limit his freedom to do so.

We are accustomed to hearing about shameful biases in divorce settlements, but in Westernised countries, the actual marriage itself is hugely biased concerning the man's lack of rights.