Decline Of Marriage In America Essay

644 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Studies on single parent households

Marriage over the recent years has been a popular topic. There as been an increase of same sex marriages has well as the push to make them legal everywhere. However, marriage has a whole has been on a decline. What is causing this to happen? There’s no obvious reason why this is happening from the surface level so lets look little closer to get a better understanding what is happening. Why are so many people opposed to getting married in today’s world? Below are six reason why marriage is on a decline here in America according to John Hawkins. First is the Sexual Revolution. If we were to go back 50 or 60 years ago, one of the big reasons why people got married is for sex and to have a family. Now a day’s, that notion is no longer apparent. Sex can happen before marriage or even sometimes after 2 or dates …show more content…

Women have the same ability has men to support a family in today’s world. Both women and men go to college to get degree and high paying jobs. Having “additional economic options make marriage -- and staying in a difficult marriage -- less attractive to women” (Hawkins). Lastly, Children have become more of an economic hindrance than a help. One of the popular reasons to having kids is when one grows old, they have their children to take care of them. However, now a days, it costs a lot of money to raise a child. “he cost of raising a child has skyrocketed. You'll now have to take $235,000 out of your wallet to raise a kid to 17 -- and that doesn't even include college costs” (Hawkins). If one doe not want to have kids, they are basically taking away the biggest reason to get married in the first place. So, those are six different reasons why marriage has been on the decline throughout the world today. It is kind sad to see the tradition of marriage falling away but we don’t have many options when it comes to trying to support a family in today’s economy. Times are changing and we have to hold on

Show More
Related

  • A Comparison of Social Trends of the 1950s and 1990s

    1482 Words  | 3 Pages

    finally the opportune moment for individuals to build a stable family that previous decades of depression, war, and domestic conflicts had restricted. We see that this decade began with a considerable drop in divorce rates and rise in marriage rates, which is often assumed as the result of changed attitudes and values. However, this situation cannot be only just attributed to women’s

    Read More

  • Poverty, Women And Their Role In Society By Stephanie Coontz

    1191 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the reasons why divorce rates are high now, is because women are economically independent because they are educated. They did used to earn in the past, but now they have control over their income and they don’t put up with things like men abusing them or domestic violence; this shows that women have become stronger economically and emotionally as compared to how they were in the past. Those who criticize women for working and not spending time with their children, Coontz states that, “Kids do better when their mothers are happy with their lives.” (Coontze98). Men have changed as well; men didn’t used to think that children were their responsibility.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In Stephanie Coontz's The Way We Never Were?

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    fifteen years of sexual maturity before people are married. Since people have already had sex

    Read More

  • Five Non-Religious Reasons Of Marriage: Dennis Prager's Arguments For Marriage

    1249 Words  | 3 Pages

    Once upon a time marriage was a requirement of society and a value to many women who wanted a stable life. It stand as a commitment to their husband and to God. It remain a way to start a proper family in the eyes the Lord. It was what many mothers and daughters dreamed of. Now that, many generations have passed many people believe marriage is not valued and Divorce rates are higher than ever. Religion has also become optional and there’re many different religions to choose from. Cohabitation has also reigned over society one doesn’t need to wait till marriage. Now you are able to move in with the person you love at any point in life. Marriage had started as a first option to many but it has become the last. There are still reasons why marriage

    Read More

  • Analysis Of He's Just Not That Into You

    1335 Words  | 3 Pages

    These days, marriage contracts fortunately treat both men and women the same, and look at it as more of a partnership rather than a legal contract with economical advantages. (Bernstein, 2011) Today, women have more goals than getting married and having children, most want to go to college and having a successful career. It is normal for a woman to be completely successful all on her own without a husband. These days, a woman can be the bread winner of her family while her husband is a stay at home father. There are also several single working mothers and single working

    Read More

  • Society's Changing Attitude about the Traditional Family Model

    1857 Words  | 4 Pages

    Stephanie Coontz, author of The Evolution of Matrimony: The Changing Social Context of Marriage, writes that there has been more changes in marriage in the past 30 years then there was in the 3,000 years earlier. With these changes there are no religious or cultural exclusions. Coontz claims, “Right here is America’s Bible belt exist some of the highest rates of divorce and unwed motherhood in the country, and born again Christians d...

    Read More

  • American Marriage In Transition Analysis

    1952 Words  | 4 Pages

    Dating back to the early 20th century, women’s roles in the United States were very limited. In regards to family life, women were expected to cook, clean, and take care of their homes. Men, on the other hand, were in charge of working and providing for the family. Together, these designated roles helped men and women build off of each other to ultimately keep their families in check. As the years progressed, society began to make a greater push to increase women’s rights. As women started receiving greater equality and freedom, their roles began to shift. More women had to opportunity to leave the house and join the workforce. The norm for a married couple slowly began to change as men were no longer expected to individually provide for their

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Marital Decline And Marital Resilience Perspective

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    Marriage is the legal or formally recognized union of a man and a woman, or two people or the same sex as partners in a relationship. Marriage rates in the United States have changed drastically since the last 90’s and early 2000 years (Cherlin 2004). Marital decline perspective and marital resilience perspective are the two primary perspectives and which we believe are the results from the decline. The marital decline perspective is the view that the American culture has become increasingly individualistic and preoccupied with personal happiness (Amato, 2004). The change in attitudes has changed the meaning of marriage as a whole, from a formal institution

    Read More

  • Marriage Culture in the United States

    1252 Words  | 3 Pages

    The culture that exists in America is one that is constantly changing to suit the times and the many different types of people that reside in the country. One aspect of American culture that has changed profoundly is the institution of marriage. Marriage began as the undisputed lifestyle for couples willing to make the ultimate commitment to one another. However in less than a century, pointless and destructive alternatives such as premarital cohabitation, have developed to replace marriage.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Society

    1030 Words  | 3 Pages

    Warren Farrell is a well educated man who focuses his attention on gender. In his essay “Men as Success Objects,” he writes about gender roles in male-female relationships. He begins, “for thousands of years, marriages were about economic security and survival” (Farrell 185). The key word in that statement is were. This implies the fact that marriage has changed in the last century. He relates the fact that post 1950s, marriage was more about what the male and female were getting out of the relationship rather than just the security of being married. Divorce rates grew and added to the tension of which gender held the supremacy and which role the individuals were supposed to accept. “Inequality in the workplace” covered up all of the conflicts involved with the “inequality in the homeplace”(Farrell). Farrell brings to attention all ...

    Read More

  • The High Divorce Rate in the United States

    1036 Words  | 3 Pages

    Marriage is a commitment that seems to be getting harder to keep. The social standards placed on an individual by society and influenced by the media inevitably lead some to consider divorce as a “quick-fix” option. “Have it your way” has become a motto in the United States. It has become a country without any consideration of the psychological effects of marriage and divorce. The overwhelmingly high divorce rate is caused by a lack of moral beliefs and marital expectations.

    Read More

  • Evolution of the Typical American Family

    1382 Words  | 3 Pages

    One tough thing about today's American family is divorce. In 1816, one marriage out of one hundred ended in divorce. Then between the years 1869-1888, divorce increased up to one hundred and fifty percent. And the worse, between the years 1960-1980, the divorce rate increased up to two hundred and fifty percent. Divorce rates peaked in 1981 and then started to decline a little during the mid 1980's. However, divorce rates now are as high as they have ever been. Now fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce. There are five reasons for the increase in divorce. The first reason is in modern societies; individual happiness is regarded to be important so when people are unhappy with their marriage, they break-up and split. The second reason is it is easier to get divorced financially. The third reason is that women's economic independence has contributed. The fourth reason is the stigma of divorce has lessened so people are not

    Read More

  • Essay On Impact Of Children On Marriage

    549 Words  | 2 Pages

    The 21st century has changed drastically since the 1900s. One of the many things that has changed is how big of an impact children have on marriages.Children can either bring a couple together, and realize how great life is. Or a child can show the significant other how they are complete opposites. In the past century, children have had a bigger impact of making or breaking a marriage.

    Read More

  • Trends of Marriage and Divorce

    1291 Words  | 3 Pages

    Marriage is one of the oldest cultural institutions in the world. Its status has changed drastically over the years, and in the last few decades alone has gone from being a social expectation to simply an option for most people. In the 1920s, marriage was generally considered an expectation for all young women, lest they dry up like cacti before they bore children. Today, marriage is generally recognized as a commitment that may satisfy some, though many choose to forgo the process. The differences between the cultural perception of marriage in the “Roaring Twenties” compared to today have manifested themselves in many different ways.

    Read More

  • Marriage And Family Essay

    1152 Words  | 3 Pages

    What is a family? A family is two or more people consider themselves to be blood related, or related by marriage, or adoption. Our families are who we love. We as families look different in so many ways. A family’s caregiving unit might have a couple, a mother, a father, and children. A family could also be a single parent and child, a group of siblings, a small or large group of friends. A family defines itself in many different ways. Families are the foundation of how our society and how it works. It is how we come into the world and nurtured and given the tools that we need to go out into our world. We are both capable and healthy or not our families influence our lives either in a good way or a bad way. While families

    Read More

More about Decline Of Marriage In America Essay

Open Document