The Subject Of Marriage Is Age Old-

There comes a point in everyone’s life that this question or subject is brought up - “Are you dating anyone?” “When are you guys getting married?” When these questions are asked from family and friends, it pressures people into finding that special one. Even though, people do experience those desires and questions for themselves; does it make it right to feel that need? What is marriage? Is marriage a contract or love? What if marriage is not what people perceive it to be? What if marriage is not the happily ever after often seen in the movies? Laurie Essig and Lynn Owens are two scholars that wrote a piece entitled, What If Marriage Is Bad for Us? that contended the institution purpose of marriage is obsolete and in reality bad for society, and how marriage can lead to changed, unhealthy, and distressed.

”since the beginning of civilization, in every known society, governments have recognized a marriage between a man and a woman because it provides the next generation outstanding citizens and is the only means of melding two sexes into a stronger and more complete whole” (Kaufman 164).

Marriage has often been described as one of the most beautiful and powerful unions one human can form with another. It is the sacred commitment and devotion that two people share in a relationship that makes marriage so appealing since ancient times, up until today. To have and to hold, until death do us part, are the guarantees that two individuals make to one another as they pledge to become one in marriage. It is easy to assume that the guarantee of marriage directly places individuals in an everlasting state of love, affection, and support. However, over the years, marriage has lost its fairy

When we are young we play house and we play doctor, we pretend we are husbands and wives to the kids we play with. Marriage is imbedded into our minds at a young age and we value marriage as we get older. We see examples of marriages through personal experience, the TV, and through the media, but how much has marriage changed now compared to the 1950’s? The idea of marriage has been altered and improved since the 1950’s because of feminism, views about individualism, and views of same-sex marriage.

Marriage is a sacred union between two people who share love. For a long time, there has been a misconception about everything surrounding it. Whether it is the divorce rate, or the average happiness of married couples, many believe only the negative. Researchers often look only for the downside and forget to emphasize all the benefits marriage brings. In her book, The Good News About Marriage, Feldhanh discusses all of this and more in depth to bring to light the truth about marriage. Love is great and sharing a life with someone is something so special; therefore, it shouldn’t be looked down on based on misconceptions.

Tina Turner once sang, “What’s love got to do with it?” Within the song, Turner’s answer to this question is to focus only on her feelings of attraction, thus rejecting any romantic feelings. The same question can be posed to the concept of marriage. Marriage might seem easily definable: a legal union of two people. However, the motivations behind marriage differ across cultures. In America marriage is often linked with the idea of love. However, the idea of marriage as a bond of love is specific to Western culture. Additionally, marrying for love is a fairly new idea. Historically various cultures, many European, used marriage as a political tool. In this way, marriage was about gaining

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

Most Americans don’t marry young, more Americans are cohabitating before marriage, unmarried with children, not all marriages are created equal, and it’s true that the divorce rate is at fifty percent, but it does not mean what you might think…

Rejection against previous ways of living, or fight for modernity are often heard about when on the topic of marriage. Meghan Murphy author of “Marriage will never be a feminist choice,” and Ashton Blackwell author of “A rebellion against modernity” both go in depth about their views on marriage as a whole and the subliminal effects it has. These messages certainly play dividen in the area of marriage truly being worth it or not in the long-run. “Marriage will never be a feminine choice” demonstrates a newly carefree, modern day, spirited woman in today’s society whose main focus is to have fun, and avoid getting married at all costs. Murphy gravitates her ideology around the simple fact that everything you can do married you can do while single and committed. Inverse to that, “A rebellion against modernity” stretches the implication that only when married can you imply you’re truly loved and happy in every way. Blackwell also touches on weddings slowly becoming fragments of the long begotten past with the anticipation that we can bring them back in the cycle once again. Although disagreements in ideals are present, both authors are undoubtedly in line with one another when it comes to feminism.

The vast literature dedicated to the topic of arranged marriages sheds light on the transition of perception towards marriage in diverse societies across the globe. It also discusses the influence of the western culture on the rest of the world while at the same time highlighting the conflicts created due to that and how the younger generations are witnessing a change in mindset while tackling these.

The social institution of marriage is one of the most universal, ancient, and indispensable of any institution known to man. The marriage of two people, in theory, is supposed to connect

"Marriage is quite likely the one most damaging force our species have ever invented, up to and including war." Harold Christensen, author of Marriage Analysis, is not the only person who believes marriage is in many ways "hogwash."

The evolution of marriage has transformed a great deal overtime, and today, is in a unique stage. It is often that couples choose to live together before tying the not. This is called cohabitation. During this time period, couples are able to experience one another at the next level. They learn more about their significant other than ever before, and it is a great assessor as to what the future holds for the two. Whereas cohabitation is widely accepted today, this was not always the case. It wasn’t until almost a half a century ago that it was frowned upon and very rare except among the poor. The shift in acceptance on cohabitation began in 1970. This new relationship stage has significantly altered couples’ views on marriage. A half century ago, it was normal for couples to marry at a young age, coming right out of school, with the understanding that they would have to deal with tight budgets until achieving financial stability whereas couples nowadays postpone marriage until after getting to a comfortable and satisfying state of financial stability. “Marriage was the start of young adulthood in the mid-twentieth century; today it is often the end of it.” Cohabitation, a somewhat controversial and popular topic in today’s society may be viewed in many ways; it has come a long way in nearly half a century and is a growing trend among couples today for various reasons that may or may not

When it comes down to the question about marriage, family values come into question at one point or another, if not immediately. But in today’s society our values have changed from the standards that were set when the concept of marriage was founded. In traditional times it was expected that the man would court the woman for many years before settling down and asking for her hand in marriage. But, in the world today that process has changed severely. But in the midst of that process there’s a question that remains for the most part unanswered in general. Individual couples settle the matter for themselves but it leaves the whole of society in disarray searching for a universal truth to the problem.

As time went on, the concept of marriage has evolved a lot through each era and each culture. Marriage began in the Stone Age as a way of organizing and controlling sexual conduct and providing a stable structure for child-rearing and the tasks of daily life. In ancient times marriage was used to secure a safe environment in which to breed, handle the granting of property rights, and protect bloodlines. According to the ancient Hebrew law, a man was required to become the husband of a deceased brother 's widow. Throughout the cultures around the world then and now marriage contrasted. Some cultures viewed the institution as endogamous (men were required to marry within their own social group, family, clan, or tribe), exogamous (marrying outside the geographical region or social group) or polygamous (allowing men to take more than one bride). For the Anglo-Saxons and Britain 's early tribal groups, marriage was all about relationships - just not in the modern sense. “The Anglo-Saxons saw marriage as a strategic tool to establish diplomatic and trade ties”, says Stephanie Coontz, author of Marriage, A History: How Love Conquered Marriage. During the 11th Century, marriage was about securing an economic or political advantage. The wishes of the married couple and their consent was of little importance. As early as the 12th Century, Roman Catholic theologians and writers referred to