In her essay “The Radical idea of Marrying for Love,” Stephanie Coontz expresses her views on the evolution of marriage from its former survival and connection based purpose, to its now personal and emotional fulfillment motives. Coontz explains that in the past “it was inconceivable that people would choose their mates on the basis of something as fragile and irrational as love.” For most of history marriage was a mere tool for survival and political gain. Coontz provides several examples of such marriages motives but goes on to explain that in recent years, the focus has changed to a more personal motive. This shift of motives in marriage is primarily seen in Western societies and can be tied to the media driven idea of a “happily ever after” seen, heard, and advocated in a plethora of ways throughout Western societies. Today, marriage is based on the idea of love.
Discuss the influence of culture on romantic relationships Across the world culture is found to play a large part in romantic relationships, but it varies both across and between cultures. In western cultures such as the U.K, USA, and Europe , we are given free will over who we form our relationships with, whereas in non western collectivist cultures such as Asia, India and Africa a majority of relationships are pre-determined by arranged marriages where the parents select the best partner. According to research this is due to the parents thinking their child will choose their partner based on attractiveness and not success. So the parents choose the most successful partner knowing their children and grandchildren will be well looked after. In western cultures divorce is more common and it’s acceptable for people to get married multiple times.
Moreover, things such as same-sex relationships and lone parent families was stigmatised four example by most churches condemning it. However within society today stigma has also declined rapidly, making things such as same-sex relationships more normalised therefore it being seen as more acceptable. Another reason for family diversity is due to the change in attitudes and laws and important factor causing the attitude and Laws to be changed the changes that at of attitude and position of woman. The women's equal pay act 1970 influence the women to focus more on their career and I'm making money rather than just being a 'housewife.' The addition of the introduction of the lane apparently welfare benefits it allows wife to be less economically dependent on their husbands.
Whereas, the couples must love each other unconditionally and decide on choosing each other without the input of anyone else but themselves, it is assumed that “married couples should be best friends, sharing their most intimate feelings and secrets. They should express affection openly but also talk candidly about problems. And of course they should be sexually faithful to each other.” (Coontz 381) In my opinion, I do not agree with Stephanie Coontz saying George Shaw theory of marriage has unrealistic expectations even though each culture has their own interpretation of marriage. No matter what each culture is different, if they believe that having more than one wife or having cospouses it is their choice and some will stay true to the values they were raised on. Finally, Coontz brought forth if someone is not marrying for love but just for the status then what is the point of getting married.
These relationships are most likely to be non voluntary such as arranged or forced marriages. These marriages however are more than just two people getting married, it is argued that these marriages are more about two families joining one another and becoming one, in some cases extended family are likely to be living together. However, the other type of categorised culture is an individualistic culture. The western societies tend to be this culture and consist of having the emphasis on an individual’s freedom, achievements and rights. These kinds of relationships are normally voluntary and formed for an individual’s happiness rather than for the happiness of a family.
Almost all people think that getting married the one who he or she loves is natural. But there are some situations when someone cannot get married to him or her because it is socially unacceptable. The definition of marriage for different people means different things. Marriage has some forms, but nowadays the same sex marriage is the most discussed topic. So in this essay I’m going to compare the traditional marriage and the same sex marriage.
Some of the kids said they won’t mind continuing to do polygamy if they found the right people and were in love. Other said they wouldn’t want to since one person is enough for them. While polygamy has been practiced within many cultures and in many locations, in the United States it is defined as the state or practice of having more than one spouse simultaneously according to the Black’s Law Dictionary. Historical perspective is images arising from the history of the use media. However with the change of time images can be changed based on the use of different
Marriage solely being between a man and a women is something we have had for centuries, however, due to divorces and newer ways to have a family, our prestigious and “honorable estate” (Bennett 34) of marriage is weakened. By lumping gay marriage with traditional marriage, Bennett believes that the definition of marriage would be further weakened. If we legally allow this union to be a part of marriage, then how could we stop a less legitimate union, like incest or bigamy? Excluding marriage between a man and a woman is not discriminatory towards homosexuals, but it is protective towards our institution of
Sarah Yoest Pederson in her paper “A Family Of A Different Feather” reiterated the importance of respecting and recognizing the various family settings in the society. Now, I have learned that irrespective of gender, relationships can be established and sustained through effective communication, being open minded and by accepting the choices of others. First, through effective communication, people can learn a lot about each other’s family composition and what they desire in their relationships realized the importance of communications at my work place. I work for two women who are romantically attached to each other. Initially, I hated seeing both of them and made up my mind not to have any interactions with them apart from our job.
This statement is logically untrue because, of course, some parents still have control over their children and can make decisions on their behalf. For example, nowadays in the Arab world many sons and daughters of marriageable age are "forced" to marry someone whom his/her parents like, not the person himself/herself. The easiest way the author could solve this generality is by her using the word "some." So instead of writing, "Parents no longer…" she could write, "Some parents no longer…" Another generalization