Cultural Anthropology: Does Marriage Make Us Healthier?

It can be argued that one of the most important aspects of culture are marriages. The union of two people to symbolize the propagation of a system of belief and ideas passed down which become inherent to their identity. Almost every culture has some type of marriage ritual in which unite two different families and create an integral bond. Yet the similarities in the placed importance of marriage traditions are not the same across the board, and their traditions also differ as well. Each culture or group of people have different marriage customs, and do not share the same meaning of what a marriage is or what it holds in society. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how American marriage culture is different from Arab or Chinese. The paper

When looking for a partner to settle down with, one usually seeks someone who is similar to them. They might look for individuals with similar hobbies, beliefs or even age. The reason behind this is due to a theory known as Social Homogamy. Social Homogamy is when individuals are attracted to a person of a similar ethnicity, race, age, or maybe even beliefs. (Gonzalez, n.d). Due to this, there is ultimately a correlation between sameness and compatibility as when people are more alike they might relate and get along better. When people see others who are like them, they subconsciously become attracted to them along with having feelings of trust and comfort (Patel, 2017). This eventually leads to a closer bond and possibly a more successful relationship (Patel, 2017). The purpose of this research is to examine why marrying within a specific social group is more advantageous than marrying an individual of a different social group. Firstly, individuals of different social classes tend to have different norms, and this leads to key differences. Secondly, the distinctions in age groups between the couple can negatively affect a couple’s marriage due to dissimilarity, thus leading to dispute. Lastly, when a partner of an individual is from the same or similar social group, they will fit in and better adapt to their partner’s lifestyle. Therefore, marrying within the same social group is more advantageous than being with a partner opposite to them. This can be proven through the

Marriage is described as two people as partners in a personal relationship. There are two typical ideas of marriage that we know today. The first one that comes to mind is the one we all know, based on love, but there is another one that some may not even know of and its arranged marriages. Arranged marriage is not typically in our culture we know but in different cultures arranged marriages are their normal marriage. Throughout this essay, I will discuss the importance of realizing cultural diversity and how we apply the perspectives we gain from cross-cultural comparison to our own experience using central concepts about marriage to compare and contrast marriage in several cultures.

Marriage practices vary across cultures. Every culture has its own way of conducting marriage according to their traditions and customs. Most cultures share common customs and practices, while some cultures have unique practices. Marriage refers to a social union agreed upon by the couples to unit as spouses. The union of couples implies sexual relations, permanence in union, and procreation. This research paper focuses on comparing marriage practices in American and Indian culture. There is significant difference between the two cultures in marriage practices.

but, It is not the most preferred: Monogamy is the ideal and preferred form of marriage in only 81 cultures out of a sample 400cultures.

Established with Adam and Eve, still surviving, marriage is the oldest institution known. Often the climax of most romantic movies and stories, whether it may be ‘Pride and Prejudice’ or ‘Dil Wale Dulhaniya Ley Jaein Gey’, marriage has a universal appeal. It continues to be the most intimate social network, providing the strongest and most frequent opportunity for social and emotional support. Though, over the years, marriage appears to be tarnished with high divorce rates, discontentment and infidelity, it is still a principal source of happiness in the lives of respective partners. Although marriage is perceived as a deeply flawed institution serving more the needs of the society than those of the individuals, nevertheless, marriage is

Marriage is an essential contract between a husband and a wife. In the past, marriages were arranged between relatives and the parents of the couple were the main leads in discussing the ceremony.

The simplest and most basic foundation of a sociological civilization or group begins at the core center of sociology; which is marriage and the inner-fabric creation of a family. It is said that matches are made in heaven, however finding and defining your “soul mate” differs from one social group to the next. The social institution of marriage changes and adapts consistently through time, religious practice, and national beliefs. Many people believe they lead happy and satisfying lives without a marital partner, as others highly value and desire a life-long marital partner as the pinnacle achievement of their life.

Ninety percent of people in each society get married at least once. Marriage is defined as the stable union between two people that live together and are sexually involved and procreative with each other (Vaughn 2010). Being raised in a Hispanic and American culture, I’ve learned that this is what marriage is. As a culture, we place more emphasis on marriage for love while other cultures such as India place less emphasis on marriage for love.

The first major change of America’s view on marriage and the family is the concept of marriage itself. In today’s “Middle America,” marriage rates are declining rapidly in what is termed the “moderately educated middle” which is described by the research as those who have graduated from high school but not college. Those in this class are less likely to get and stay married than their peers who have a college degree. For many Americans, marital happiness rates are at a low point due to numerous reasons which include the later age in which people get married, the

Marriage is a social structure. When couples get married they enter into a relationship that is societally recognized and to some degree societally regulated. Laws, customs, traditions and cultural assumptions are intrinsically involved in defining the path that a marriage will take. In the late 19th century many Americans had to come to terms in some way with the societal expectations of marriage, guided by the Victorian mores. But as the 20th century began these elements began to evolve. As personal expectations became more important societal expectations lost prevalence.

In context and comparison with other cultures around the culture, this is very unusual as marriages are used as an agreement between two groups of people, not two individuals. Perhaps economic independence in the West contributes widely to the lost of economic and societal factors in deciding marriage partners. Love between two spouses may at first seem efficient in raising children, but the American ideals of youth and beauty diminishes the marriage as their spouses change over their lifetimes (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, McBride, 2005: 221). High divorce rates and serial monogamy creates a phenomenon called omnigamy, where a divorce couple might remarry spouses whom also have children and where all their children simultaneously visit each parent. Along with an extended, extended family, these “nuclear” families quickly becoming undefinable (Warms, 2002: 208).

Studies that focused on an individual’s physical well-being, found that married individuals have the lowest morbidity and mortality rates than individuals who were not married. Similar to findings on physical well-being, findings based on studies of psychological well-being discovered that married individuals experience better mental health than unmarried persons. Studies that used avowed happiness to assess an individual’s subjective well-being discovered that married people were happier than never-married, separated, divorced, and widowed persons (Bradburn 1969).

Marriage is a union that has been around for as long as humans have walked the earth. The human race depends upon the union of its members, and as such, the subject of marriage has been an issue that receives more intense scrutiny and attention than many would likely believe. In today's day and age, with humanity continuing to move in a modern direction, many argue that marriage is a union that should be entered into freely and should be based exclusively on the love between two people. However, I argue that arranged marriage, which has taken place throughout the ages and throughout the world, is a union that offers its observers a marriage based in support, longevity and love, and is an institution that should not be frowned upon.

What is marriage? Marriage is a gift from God to us, the quality of our marriage can be our gift from us to him/ her. There was a history in India that “First Comes Marriage, Then Comes Love”. According to them, it means, you will get to know your life partner after marriage. Therefore, arranged marriage has been important in Indian culture since the 4th century. Women would be placed under the authority of a male. Then, in the modern period, love marriage has become more popular. Love marriage is better than arrange marriage because at this