So, in case you didn’t quite get the headline, (I tried, okay!?) this post will be about marriage. No my friends, not about the weddings themselves, not about the proposals, and not about the struggle perks of married life- but instead the… well, lack of. Clearly we have come quite far from the days when one was expected to be married by 14; so it doesn’t take me by surprise to think that less people are getting married than 80 years ago, but what did take me by surprise was the complete lack of enthusiasm for marriage nowadays. And this is not to say that nobody wants to get married any more- far from it- but marriage’s appeal seems to be reaching an all time low. And this is probably partly due to the negative reputation it has gained. I mean, just look back a couple lines, when I crossed out struggle for perks in my lame attempt to humour you. I didn’t even plan to include it, and you can see how easily it is to slip in an anti-marriage comment. And did you even question it? When reading, did it even occur to you that I’d just dissed marriage by making a now very stereotypical assumption on marriage life, and it was perfectly acceptable?
I think that tells us something. Thank you for proving my point, dear friend.
I’m not even married yet, but still its harsh stereotype comes naturally to me; which must somewhat contribute to this new view on marriage.
Also, is the increase in divorce rates putting us off? Why bother with the expensive wedding, the legal papers, the change in last name; if it’s all just to break it off later on? But we must consider that the divorce rate increased when requesting a divorce became legal for both men and women. So maybe, it’s not that less and less people are interested in marriage, just that more and more people are allowed to express their dis-interest. Hmm.. Sorry, when off on a little thought trail there… Back on course! My point is, maybe it’s the knowledge that you’re likely to get divorced that’s putting us off marriage.
Another factor to take into account is an interesting one: maybe we just want more sex? Or to be a bit more general, maybe marriage traditions are too old-fashioned for us? Perhaps pledging our infinite love to someone has become a bit out-dated? It has been proven that married men have more sex than single men, but a lot less than men who are cohabiting with their partners outside of marriage, especially as more time passes. So perhaps, like I mentioned before, all that commitment has reached it’s date-of-expiry, or we just feel like marriage isn’t needed to prove our love any more.
This post isn’t really going to have a conclusion- I have no answers for you. All I can say is that the more people I ask about marriage, the less keen they seem to be. And is it a shame that marriage is falling through the cracks, or does it provide a new freedom for couples, without the pressure of weddings and married life?
Or maybe I’m wrong and I’m just asking the wrong people- perhaps marriage is still fighting strong. How do you feel, and does marriage feel like a romantic statement, or a weight on your back?
Hope that was somewhat interesting… or at least that you don’t feel I’ve 100% wasted your time. Feel free to find me on Twitter- @CookieElement and tweet/DM me a topic you’d like me to blog about, and please comment, like, and just think overall positive thoughts.
Until next time!
-The Cookie Element
The cookie element 