Marriage Family Sociology

Marriage With all the possibilities and popularity of cohabitation, why do people get married? Requires a long-term public commitment Fulfills social norms, such as expectation of parents, friends, relatives Married couples get legal rights and privileges reserved for spouses

Marriage With all the possibilities and popularity of cohabitation, why do people get married? Allows for emotional investment with reduced risk of abandonment Increases the probability that children raised by two parents Marriage is a social institution that confers legality on a relationship

Marriage With all the possibilities and popularity of cohabitation, why do people get married? Traditionally marriage has been an integral part of a sequence of the life course and a key event in the life course. Marriage used to be connected to such things such as: ◦ Leaving parental home ◦ Position in the labor market ◦ A regular sex life ◦ Parenthood Marriage has fewer effects on these things, so it becomes more acceptable not to marry/ marry/ or divorce

Why do we want to marry? Why do you want to marry? What are the number 1 or 2 most important reasons why you want to get married?

Why Get Married

Marriage Age of marriage has increased considerably This related to several other changes: 1) Rise in cohabitation. 2) Technological advances in contraceptives 3) Increases in educational attainment, esp. for women 4) Increased female labor force participation

Generation Y is postponing Marriage A new study by the Pew Research Center is discussed in an article in the Christian Science Monitor 213/Modern-romance-Gen-Y-is-late-to-the- wedding-but-wants-marriage 213/Modern-romance-Gen-Y-is-late-to-the- wedding-but-wants-marriage Note that Andrew Cherlin, whose research we have read, is quoted and how journalism blends anecdotal stories with real research.

Changing Marital Expectations

According to Julian Sanchez in your book: Stephanie Coontz argues that one women, one man idea of marriage is a new one. She argues LOVE partnered with marriage was an 18 th century invention See assignment on marriage: what were some of the other types of marriages in ancient times?

Marriage Market Sociologists often study marriage in terms of the marriage market ◦ Thinking is similar to the employment market There are 3 components to this “marriage market” Supply – who is available Preferences – preferred characteristics Resources – individual characteristics that are attractive to others

Marriage Market The concept of the marriage market is that unmarried individuals search for spouses with an acceptable set of desired characteristics What are some of these desired characteristics? 1. Propinquity (Proximity) 2. Religion 3. Education 4. Class 5. Race

Marriage Market Proximity – where ones lives. Proximity is important as you actually have to come into contact with someone to meet them and start dating – A study in 1958 showed that people most like to marry lived within 2-3 miles of each other. Proximity still makes sense because neighborhoods are usually stratified by class, ethnicity, and race. The importance of proximity is weakening, especially with advances in communication like the internet, but still has some effect (according to more recent studies).

Recent Polls on how/where people met their spouses The Harris Interactive/eHarmony study was conducted through a nationwide online survey using a representative sample of 7,135 Americans aged who were married between April 1, 2006 and March 31, % of all new marriages in the United States, resulted from eHarmony Another new dataset is called: How Couples Meet and Stay Together (HCMST) survey 18 percent of the surveyed married or committed couples met at work, just 14 percent met in school or college Source: Summary.pdf

How Couples Meet Source:Meeting Online: The Rise of the Internet as a Social Intermediary Rosenfeld, PAA presentation.

Marriage Market Education: women are becoming more educated so the old pattern of men marrying a wife with less education is no longer the norm. But similar education is preferred, particularly because more education often means more earning potential, and this is now preferred by both men & women Educational attainment may also reflect social class.

Education and Marriage In a reversal of long term marital patterns: college-educated young adults are MORE likely than young adults without a college degree to have married by age 30

Today college- educated are as likely to marry as the non-college educated The college-marriage gap has closed

Marriage Market Class: most people marry within their social class (measured by their occupation or their parents ’ occupation). Many people seek to marry up – this is called hypergamy Hypergamy is defined as: marrying up in social status. Women more likely to marry up, men down.

Marriage Market Race: most marry within their racial group In the past -- laws against inter-racial marriage (miscegenation) Still on the books in some southern states until the Supreme Court overturned them in 1967 Sociologists expect that inter-racial marriage will become more common

Summary Cohabitation seems to be another family form – but it has not replaced marriage According to Cherlin – marriage today is a paradox, that as people enter marriage, they are more likely to judge it by a single standard – personal fulfillment - which is difficult when you are an individual in a couple. People are more likely to marry those who are similar to them in religion, race, class, educational attainment, and attractiveness