We regularly hear that approximately 50 percent of American marriages end in divorce. That’s a grim statistic.
But we rarely hear about how many people are getting married despite the divorce rate. Knowing that half of marriages end in divorce doesn’t give me any idea how many people are currently married.
New statistics based on the most recent Census shows that marriage rates are dropping. And they’re dropping at such a rate that the institution of marriage could be going the way of the dodo bird.
The Pew Research Center recently released an analysis of data from the 2010 Census showing only 51 percent of Americans aged 18 and older were married.
That’s only half of legal adults – not the number I was expecting, considering my Facebook feed is showered in engagement parties and marriage invitations.
The Pew Center also noted that while marriage rates have dropped since 1960, the age range showing the greatest drop in matrimony is in people 18 to 29 years old. Only 20 percent of people in that age group are married in the U.S. today, compared with 59 percent in 1960.
In 40 years, marriage in college-age students has dropped 39 percent and the average age of first-time newlyweds has risen to 27 years old for women and 29 for men.
So much for women coming to college to get a “MRS” degree.
While dating and relationships are still part of the college culture, these statistics show that marriage is no longer the first thing on all women’s minds anymore.
Beliefs about marriage and family have changed along with women’s ability to support themselves and their children.
Despite media hype and the tirades of traditionalists, a family is no longer two married adults with two kids and a dog in a house with a white picket fence. When’s the last time you saw a white picket fence?
Families are changing. They come in different shapes and sizes and don’t include only genetic relations anymore.
Everyone has a biological family, like them or not, but that doesn’t mean they are our family of choice or the family we claim.
Take genetics out of the family equation and you strike a blow to the belief that a child will only have a family with married parents.
We won’t easily stop shotgun weddings for the unmarried and pregnant, but those numbers are dropping.
Some people no longer believe that marriage is the ultimate life goal and are instead choosing careers ahead of marriage.
Women are choosing careers over marriage because their vocational options now allow them to take care of themselves without having to get married – a rare occurrence in the 1960s.
While unequal pay and other sexist discriminations still exist, women can support themselves and their kids without the necessity of a man’s income.
Another factor is the increasing numbers of people in long-term relationships who simply don’t see a gain from getting married. They live together, share bills and responsibilities and have children together, but they don’t need the government’s or church’s validation of their relationship.
Only half of straight people are getting married, and half of those who get married get divorced.
As the bigots trying to stop same-sex marriage are throwing around sanctity and history, maybe they should wake up to the change before us.
At this rate, the institution of marriage is headed toward critical endangerment. The reasons for getting married – financial support, societal validation and family affirmations – are slowly becoming obsolete.
One day, marriage could be something we only read about in the history books.
Kristi Carnahan is a 25-year-old anthropology senior from West Monroe. Follow her on Twitter @TDR_KCarnahan.
 
 
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Contact Kristi Carnahan at [email protected]