Time to get serious. Newsweek did a piece on “The Case Against Marriage” with some mighty scary stats. They include:
1. Americans have the highest divorce rate in the world
2. As many as 60 percent of men and 50 percent of women will have sex outside of their marriage (The rest are too busy being online)
3. Simply having a husband creates an extra seven hours of housework each week
(Most of this involves retrieving recyclables from the trash)
4. The percentage of Americans getting married is dropping steadily
5. 75% of men vs only 63% of women age 18-34 believe marriage is necessary
(Apparently, 12% of women have heard about that extra seven hours of housework)
6. Europeans have fewer marriages and once married, they have fewer divorces
7. Non-married couples with the “intention” of forever are just as likely to stay together as married couples
There’s a lot more. In a nutshell: Marriage started as a way to protect women and children economically. Now women are increasingly more and more able to take care of themselves. And the longer we live, the less likely it is that we can maintain monogamous relationships. It’s a lot easier to contemplate spending 20 or 25 years with someone than it is to contemplate 50. Or 60.
So, what’s the upside? Beside the princess-for-a-day thing and the potential tax benefit? According to Newsweek, not much. Life in the Boomer Lane did read somewhere that married men are happier and live longer than unmarried men, so women might want to marry them as a public service. On the other hand, LBL thinks she read the same thing about dog ownership.
Her family is a poor example of the downward trend. After her divorce, she remarried, as did Then Husband. Two of her three kids have married (albeit, after relationships of nine years apiece). The youngest has nothing against marriage, as long as the ceremony can be performed in his backyard.
LBL and Now Husband come from families who believe in marriage. Now Husband’s grandfather was married eight times. His mother was married three times, his father twice. LBL’s grandfather was married three times. That’s a lot of dogs.
Life in the Boomer Lane 
writerwoman61
July 15, 2010
Food for thought, Renée…
All of my grandparents stayed with their original partners until death.
My parents split after 25 years of marriage (neither remarried), as did my uncle and aunt (she remarried, he didn’t). Another aunt endured 32 years in an abusive marriage (we didn’t know) before getting out. She has been happily married to her second husband for more than 15 years.
Jim and I have been together just over two years…we plan to get married once our respective divorces are final (his first marriage was over 20 years, mine was 13 years). I’d be fine with just continuing to live together, but he really wants to be married (whether I change my name or not is still a bone of contention).
My oldest daughter and her man have been together for 3 1/2 years, and have a baby daughter. His mom has been married three times (currently single), and his dad is on Wife #2. My daughter is content with living together, as she knows her man is understandably nervous about marriage.
Interesting topic…
Wendy
lifeintheboomerlane
July 15, 2010
There’s no doubt in my mind that the institution of marriage and our feelings about what committment means are changing.