Culture and Marriage - Research Paper Example

Traditionally, a young man in the society would approach the father of his love and suggest his intention of marrying her to him (Ferraro & Andreatta, p.76). If consented, the young man would go ahead and proposes to the girl and the wedding preparations then begin (Segal, p.89). However, according to reports there exists a dichotomy in the current public life among the American society. On one side, there are those individuals who are considered to be economically stable and are usually encouraged to get into marriage and those who are not willing to get married due to their economic statuses (Chapman, p. 94). Reports indicate that the rates of marriage within the American community have fallen by over 50% since the year 1950 due to the economic hardships the country has been experiencing.

The American census bureau estimates that households with single people are on the increase from about 500,000 in the year 1970 to about 5 million in the year 2008 which represents a drastic increase (Ferraro & Andreatta, p.123). Households which are non-family have also soared in numbers from 7 million in the year 1980 to over 34 million by the year 2009. . 96). They proposed that these rights should also be accorded to other individuals who may be in a relationship (Ferraro & Andreatta, p.136).

These rights include alimony along with property rights for domestic partners who may be cohabiting. They include the homosexuals and heterosexuals in their society. The institute additionally claims that adultery should be eliminated as a ground for being granted divorce, dividing property, attaining child-custody or alimony (Segal, p.107). Previous reports additionally indicate that Americans first perceive human beings as being dedicated to individualism while cultivating their self images (Colombo, Cullen & Lislie, p.85). In other reports sociologists suggested that the average ages for marriage among young women was 20 while for the men was 22 years.

They additionally claim that this prompted the majority of their population to get into marriage (Yang & Lu, p.113). Further research also indicates that there are other additional and different perceptions among the different people in the society regarding the institution of marriage. The second view is that marriage involves the cooperation of men along with women for the purpose of bearing and rearing children (Colombo, Cullen & Lislie, p.105). They regard the institution of marriage as a union that takes place for the purpose of advancing it through the formation of an economic partnership (Segal, p.119). Their government had these perceptions from the year 1948 through to the year 1989 and implemented for them for effective taxation while allowing married partners who were divorcing to split their wealth more easily (Colombo, Cullen & Lislie,