MARRIAGES, INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS & SOCIETY

1. MARRIAGES, INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS & SOCIETY Unit 3 – Chapter 6

2. The Purpose of Marriage Functionalists: • Explain marriage as the central social grouping to meet the basic needs in all societies • “Norm” of society • Many individuals feel that getting married gives them adult status within their society and family

3. Love & Marriage Social Exchange Theorists: • Explain that being married will be better than being single (benefits vs. costs) • The contemporary ideal in most cultures suggests that marriage is a happy state in which one can love and be loved • Canadians said what they liked most about marriage was companionship, including love and support and the stability of the relationship

4. Marriage & Identity Symbolic Interactionism • When people marry they acquire the status of husband, wife, spouse or life partner • Marriage changes how other people see them, but it also changes how individuals see themselves • Also perception that marriage is the “right” and acceptable choice to make

5. “Two heads are better than one!” • Systems • Idea that groups are better than individuals • Marriages need to continue in order to carry on family system

6. Conflict • Based on power dynamic • Couples have more access to supports (money and social status) • Power dynamic between couple has typically been that “man wears the pants” … changing!

7. The Purpose of Marriage • In the past, marriage provided legitimate access to sexual partners and ensured the bearing and raising of children • Now, 90% of Canadians accept adults having premarital sex but expect to marry when they want to have children • Marriage also allows individuals to share resources to improve their standard of living

8. A Legal Point of View 3 Models of Marriage in Western Society: (Justice Blair – Court of Appeal for Ontario) • The historical classical model emphasizes the complementary biological and social roles of men and women and views marriage as the ideal situation for raising children • The choice model views marriage as a private agreement between individuals, with an emphasis on self-expression of sexuality • The commitment model views marriage as a committed, intimate relationship based on emotional support. Although it is founded on individual choice, it focuses on connection within the community.

9. A Legal Point of View • Canada currently follows the commitment model which assumes: • emotional and financial interdependence • obligations of mutual support • shared social activities • marriage is more important for raising children than for producing them

10. Marriage & Identity • The commitment model is based on shared lifestyle • In the past, if men or women wanted to improve their social status, they would marry someone of higher status • Today, individuals who want to improve their quality of life will choose a partner who has similar goals and financial means, they will strive together to develop a higher status

11. The Timing of Marriage • The timing of significant developments in life is determined by a culture’s social clock and by an individual’s readiness to make the change • Canadians believe the best age to marry is 26.3 for men and 24.9 for women (2004)

12. The Timing of Marriage • the average age of first-time brides was 28.5 years and for grooms was 30.5 years (2004) • many Canadians cohabit before they marry, but it is not clear whether cohabitation is a cause or an effect of delayed marriage • emerging adults are delaying marriage, but they are also delaying cohabitation

13. The Timing of Marriage • Marriage is no longer the significant rite of passage into adulthood that it once was • Several adjustments in the social clock accommodate these changes • post-secondary education • finding a job in the chosen career • employment security • finances • readiness to have a child

14. The Economics of Marriage • Marriage has always been an economic union • The economic benefit is achieved by sharing resources as well as the labour • Marriages are no longer essential for economic survival for women who are employed and self-supporting • Women who are educated and earning comparable incomes to their spouse are less likely to accept traditional marriage roles

15. The Economics of Marriage • By law, when a couple separates, all assets are communally owned, regardless of individual income • Spouses have a responsibility to share their income for mutual support • Couples who choose to marry or to cohabit for 3 years in Ontario, assume this unwritten contract under Canadian law

16. Cohabitation • Most common choice of Canadians for their first conjugal relationship (a relationship based on a sexual union) • Also called a common-law relationship • these relationships are not governed by written law but by legal and social customs • Although cohabitation begins less formally than marriage, spouses are still subject to some legal obligations and they are more likely to separate than if they were married

17. Cohabitation • Fewer emerging adults are married, but the decline is almost offset by the greater number of individuals who are cohabiting with a partner • Between 2001 – 2006, the number of families with cohabiting adults increased by 18.5%, while families with married adults increased by only 3.5%, and single-parent families by 7.8%

18. Cohabitation • Most people assume that cohabitation means living together before marriage, it is a prelude to marriage, not an alternative • The high divorce rate makes some people feel a need to test their relationship before making a firm commitment • Although cohabitation is perceived to be insurance for a lasting marriage, it is not effective

19. Cohabitation • Fewer cohabiting couples marry than in the past • Common-law couples are more likely to separate than married couples • Couples who marry after cohabiting are twice as likely to get divorced • Why?

20. Cohabitation People who cohabit might: • be less selective about their partner because they feel the relationship is less durable • not make the commitment to the relationship by pooling resources or developing problem-solving strategies • not be sexually exclusive

21. Cohabitation • Perhaps living together without a commitment changes people’s idea of marriage and family and reduces the importance of commitment so they’re more likely to separate when problems arise • Perhaps the problems that prevented marriage in the first place might continue to cause difficulties after the marriage

22. Same-Sex Couples • Same-sex relationships have always existed, since the Civil Marriage Act was passed in 2005, same-sex marriage has been permitted in Canada • In Canada, individuals choose to marry or cohabit based on the romantic attraction of partners, not on the traditional responsibilities that are defined in the law or by religious beliefs

23. Same-Sex Couples • 61% of Canadians feel that same-sex couples should continue to have the right to marry (2009) • marriage provides the same protection to partners and their children in gay and lesbian families that it provides to heterosexual couples