Are there Alternatives to Marriage?

Above are cohabitation static's from the Australian Institute of Family static's.

So how did everything get so off-track? There is the plague of individualism and consumerism that has infiltrated the fabric of our society with the commencement of the industrial revolution. Combined with the feminist movement which started in 1848, the first Women's Conference held in Seneca Falls, America laid the foundation of well meaning change and rights for women. Something went awry over time and the very rights they proposed to protect for women such as equal power and developing a self of belongingness which encourages them to contribute more to the people around them both personally as well as professionally went to extremes.

Some argue "feminism leads to the undermining of traditional values and power of a woman which is her family and loved ones. In a way, feminism is carving discrimination between men and women by demanding for equal rights for them, hence portraying that men are dominant in the society. It also segregates men and women" (Pros and Cons of feminism). Movements like the women's liberation perpetuated ideology individualism.

The costs of cohabitation, divorce, and single parenthood are expensive—and not just for the couples involved. The social consequences of marital substitutions, represented by yet another huge pile of studies, are substantial. The result on children, especially, is well known. According to Amato (2005), being raised by divorced or single parents negatively affects children academically, socially, and psychologically, and also correlates with a greater incidence of risky behaviors. And remarriage, while a valid option for many families, proves problematic as a whole with its complexities of re-adjustment, blended families, and even higher divorce rates.

In “The Marriage-Go-Round”, by Andrew Cherlin (2009) concludes that second, third, and fourth marriages inflict all the more damage on children as adults go from one relationship to the next in pursuit of individual fulfillment. Researchers like Amato, Cherlin, and others belong to that group of scholars who have connected the research dots to a sometimes uncomfortably honest assessment of the data. Of course, like the data on marriage benefits, statistics on children of divorce, single parenthood, and blended families do not determine how each individual life will play out. People raised by parents in a less-than-ideal or nonexistent marriage can and often do overcome the odds. But what the long-term findings offer is a corrective to wishful notions.

References

VanDenBerghe E., & Hawkins, A., J., (2016). The warm, happy marriage: Cold, hard, facts to consider. In Hawkins, A. J., & Dollahite, D. C., & Draper, T. W., (Eds.), Success marriages and families – proclamation principles and research perspectives. pp. 3-15. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University

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