Marriage Markets : How Inequality Is Remaking The American Family

The nuclear, male breadwinner family is no longer as prevalent in society, but breaking down these numbers further proves even more illuminating in displaying the decreased prominence of such a structure in society as time passed. Andrew Cherlin (2010) points out trend after

Family structure has been changed and there is about one and a quarter million single parents. A family making up to 19% of all families with children, the number of single parents has almost doubled since the early 1970s. According to census 2001 report and labor force survey, the rate of married couple (marriages) has decreased over the last ten years, (accounting for 71 per cent of families in 2006, compared with 76 per cent in 1996). In the same period, the proportion of cohabiting couple increased to 14 per cent from 9 per cent. The proportion of lone parent families increased by less than one per cent over this period, but the

About four in every ten children born in America in 2008 were born outside of marriage, and they are disproportionately minority and poor. “Only about 6 percent of college-educated mothers’ births are nonmarital versus 60 percent of those of high school dropouts” (5). Scholars responded to this by studying single-parent families.

Did you know that more than one fourth of all children in the United States live with only one parent? Single parenting has become more common today than in the 1800s, when it was sometimes frowned upon. As the years have gone by, it has become easier and easier for women to become single parents. In the 1800’s if husbands died or abandoned their families, women had no choice but to work for extremely low and unfair wages. Today, most men and women are treated equal and receive equal wages making it easier for women to be single parents. This concept is shown in Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer through Aunt Polly in the 19th century, single parenting is also common today.

According to the authors, “marriage gap” is the existing disparity in marriages based on education, race, and gender. They argue that “marriage gaps” in the United States are widening. The statistics presented indicate that college-graduates are likely to marry among themselves and they portray a rising trend in interracial marriages, save for the Black Americans who are less likely to marry across race lines. However, the statistics indicate a “gender gap,” in that, “three-quarters of the black-white marriages involve a black man, rather than a black woman.” Sixty percent of college educated black women in the age bracket of 25 to 35 are likely not to get married as compared to 38 percent of college-educated white women. Moreover, 58 percent of college educated black women are more likely to be married to less educated white men. In correlation with “assortative mating”, it implies that college-educated white women are more likely to be espoused to men with college education. This further implies the reinforcement of household income. College educated single women do not enjoy the multiplication effect in incomes resulting from “assortative mating”. Therefore, “marriage gaps” raises income inequality. Single mothers, and individuals with non-college education will have low household income unlike educated partners who have opted to marry each other, whether across races or within the racial

Within a generation, America has seen radical changes in the home. My mother was raised in an era where the nuclear family was the norm, however, in recent years, its has become increasingly acceptable for children to be born out of wedlock. After learning this, the question on my mind, and probably yours, is “what happened to the American family”. June Carbone and Naomi Cahn believe that changes in marriage dynamics are responsible. In the book, Marriage Markets: How Inequality Is Remaking the American Family, they report that the age in which couples get married is rising, yet the rate of marriage is falling, and it is found that nearly half of all who marry, wind up separating. Additionally, the number of children born out of wedlock is now nearing those of children who are born within wedlock and the percentage of children who grow up in a single parent household is the highest it 's ever been. Using quantitative research methods, Carbone and Cahn were able to assess the changes America has seen in recent years. The changing dynamic of the family reinforces economic inequality and predetermines a child’s income as an adult.

As time progresses, family structures are rapidly shifting. In 2007, unmarried parents produced 40% of US children. This was over twice the 18 percent in 1980 and about eight times greater than the 5% in 1960 (Waldfogel, Craigie, Brooks-Gunn, 2).  In a study of 5000 children in many large cities, 3,700 of them were born to unmarried mothers. According to Waldfogel, Craigie, and Brooks-Gunn, such familiar conditions are dangerous because of the way that single mothers and unmarried parents tend to have less stable lives and relationships

xxxv. Husbands and fathers provided economic support and protection and represented the families to the outside world

In the last few decades, families in Canada have been experiencing conspicuous changes in family structure and style. Further flexible agreements have been observed with a raise in the number of couples that live in common-law relationships including stepfamilies in a larger circumstance of high divorce rates. The highest compelling family tendency in Canada is that of the growing number of single parent families. According to Statistics Canada (2007), while in 1966, single parents represented only 8.2% of the number of headcount families, this representation increased to 15.9% in 2006. In other words, in forty years the rate of single parent families approximately doubled. Even though many educational gains have been made by single parents

The American family, as we’ve seen in previous chapters, has developed in dynamic ways over the centuries. As a class, we have discussed the structure of families since the 1700s and how that structure has affected the rest of society. In this section specifically, we examine poverty, the economy and cultural influences have had a significant impact on the African American family and its position on marriage.

The Marginalization of Marriage in Middle America is an interesting article that explains a social phenomenon that is currently occurring within the United States. The problem is essentially the fact that that there is a wide range of forces that are driving the retreat from marriage in Middle America, more specifically with the moderately-educated Americans. Some of the driving forces include economic, cultural, religious, and legal factors. One of mentioned policies, with the intentions of resolving the problem, was the idea of “increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for childless workers and reduce the marriage penalty.” I agree to an extent with the fact that the policy will improve the current frequency of marital retreatment,

American families have never been as diverse as they are today. There is a constant changing definition of what we call “family”. We as Americans are straying further and further from the idea of a classic nuclear family. One of the biggest reasons is a dramatic rise in kids living with a single parent. In 2014, just 14% of children younger than 18 lived with a stay-at-home mother and a working father who were in their first marriage (Livingston, 2015). This research will address in depth why households are now more diverse than ever, what’s the normal family now, and why aren’t the laws adjusting to how the average American family lives today.

When considering the word “family”, many people think of “Mom+Dad+2.5 children”--the nuclear family of television sitcom. However, this definition of family is a new interpretation that fit the rapid housing expansion of the Cold War years in the Western world. Conservatives have often decried the breakdown of this definition of family as a primary reason for their opposition to same sex marriage. As this was the predominant family structure for a lengthy period of time, most family law decisions have been written with this paradigm in mind, defining a husband/wife relationship as the norm. However, as gay marriage is legalized nationally, family law must adapt to newer definitions of the word “family”, in order to

Divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing are now epidemic in American society. Both forms of disrupted families are harmful to children and to society. The children of single parents are more likely to do poorly in school, commit crimes, and become single parents themselves. In addition, the increase in single-parent families contributes to such social problems as poverty, crime, and a decline in the quality of public education.

Single parent households are a sensitive topic that is highly debated today. This topic is one that has repercussions for both the parents and the children involved. However, regardless of the different consequences, these households continue to grow in the coming years. “In 1970, traditional two-parent married households dominated, making up 81 % of all households in the United States (US). By 2012 this number dropped to around 66 % … In 2012, approximately 21 million children, or 28 % of all children in the US, lived with one parent” (Kramer, 2015). It is interesting to look at the way the single parent households continue to grow throughout the years, all while being a hot topic for discussion on its consequences. When thinking about a book to read for this course, there was no real choice. I stumbled upon this book and knew right away that I could benefit from this book, as well as connect to it on a deeper level and relate to it personally.