The Family: Chapter 8

inequality

(1) couples increasingly pair up according to education level and earning potential (marriage is now more common for people with college degree) - more singles scarping by on one low wage (2) married couples are much less likely to be poor (3) recognition of same sex marriage remains a contentious issue

social change

(1) growth of individualism and the goals of individual fulfillment and self-expression have weakened the ties of marriage "me-generation" (2) the law has increasingly treated people as individuals (obligations of parents are the same whether or not they are married) (3) Modern identities - how people think of themselves and explain their lives - have grown more diverse

Preference and drawing of boundaries between groups

personal preference (socialization) people bring their life stories - embedded in their personalities (homophily) "birds of a feather flock together" similar people and up together: personal preference and practical limits boundaries: race, education, and religion are the most resilient boundaries of the marriage market in the Unites States

three marriage benefits/rewards

1. Responsibility: lower suicide rates among married people, young married adults behave more cautiously (binge drinking, marijuana smoking) 2. Cooperation: share assets and abilities, "specialization" for example he can focus on his job because she takes care of the household 3. Status: married men received higher salaries because their managers thought they deserved to be paid more

marriage rights

1996: Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA): if any states did legalize same-sex marriage, the federal government - including agencies such as Social Security and the Internal Revenue Service - would not recognize those marriag 2013: Overturned by Supreme Court 2016: Supreme Court ordered all states to allow same-sex marriage

race and ethnicity

2018 (18%) marriages across the lines Only one quarter of American Indians marry other American Indians

endogamy

American marriage markets are informally divided along the lines of race/ethnicity, religion. and social class = endogamy (reproduction within a distinct group) exogamy: promotes cultural innovation and diversity by promoting the exchange of ideas, reduces health problems associated with inbreeding

race/ethnicity

Asian Americans are the most likely to get married for the first time in a given year followed by: Whites, Latinos, American Indians, African American Black men: (poor) employment problems (country's manufacturing base has shrunk and moved away from large inner cities), sex imbalance in large inner cities (p. 99), 6xmore likely to be incarcerated than White men, 1.6x more likely to die before age 35 than White males African Americans are more committed to the ideal of BOTH men and women being "good providers" (lower Black rates of marriage - often delay or forgo marriage because of economic insecurity)

Cohabitation

Living together without being married = one of the biggest changes in marriage expected stage in relationships those with less education are less likely to marry but more likely to live together (1) before marriage: proving ground for the relationship, reduce housing costs, convenience (risk: may get married out of "relationship inertia") (2) instead of marriage -marriage resistance, nontraditional couples face obstacles to marriage (3) after marriage: common among older adults

Who gets married?

Marriage rates have fallen since 1960s. (later marriages, frequent divorces = married life occupies a smaller portion of the adult lives in America, 80% of people have been married at least once by the time they reach their fifties) African Americans experience a more rapid and pronounced decline in marriage rate marriage is increasingly concentrated among those with higher education and incomes

education

college or graduate school delay marriage while they finish school and establish their careers less education: economic insecurity - delay marriage income gap increases between married college graduates' double income - and marriage among the poor the rich have the ability and means to achieve their family ideals

economics

economic independence frees people from the need to get married women with substantial student loan debt are less likely to get married people with higher incomes don't have as much economic need to marry, but they are more sought after for marriage among those with lower incomes marriage often seems like a commitment that brings more burden than benefit "I can do bad by myself"

culture

falling appreciation for marriage among some people rising ideal of marriage among others marriage is less a requirement for intimacy, sex, living together, becoming a parent - more a symbolic achievement than a practical necessity

religion

federal agencies don't collect information on American's religious beliefs before the mid-twentieth century, religious intermarriage was a greater practical concern than interracial marriage or marriage across social classes 9 out of 10 Christians are still married to other Christians liberal or moderate Protestants are now more frequently intermarrying among themselves as well as with non-Protestants... Jews have a high rate of endogamy (almost two-thirds are married to other Jews) 80% of Muslims are married to other Muslims married couples attend religious services more often than single couples

Education

increasing importance of education decline of religion as a factor in marriage marriage as a companionship of equals 76% of married couples married according to education level for people with higher education level it is expected to choose a spouse of the same education level leads to closer income equality between husband and wife

The Modern Married Individual

individualism and marriage don't mix but commitment to another person can be a personal/individual choice Lifelong commitment: Success Emotional support Security

marriage

legal status symbolic status

sex

less than 1% of all married couples are same-sex married-couples

Why do people get married?

love companionship commitment Incentives: state and government rights and benefits Social pressure: Imitation: as a way to narrowing options - conform to common behavior patterns

Politics of Marriage

married couples are made more free by loosening restrictions on marriage and the right to divorce Marriage Promotion: (by the government has not been effective) 1990: Aid to Families with Dependent Children (critics: paying poor women to remain single) 1996 reform: Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) (goal: provide assistance to poor families + encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families: poor mothers got a choice to get a job or to get married) Government spent more than a billion dollars to encourage poor people to get married (distributed to state agencies and nonprofit groups) concerns about marriage promotion: encourage people in abusive or unhealthy relationships to stay together government should pursue broader policies that help increase economic security for low-income families: increase the minimum wage, paid family leave, child-care support

diversity

more than two-thirds of people who marry have lived together (cohabited) marriage and cohabitation between people of the same gender many American marriages are remarriages

demography

primary restrictions Americans apply to their marriage partner choices: race/ethnicity education level religion marriage squeeze: baby boomers (supply of 22-year-old women greatly exceeded the supply of 25-year-old men) another marriage squeeze: 1970s and 1980s (industrial manufacturing jobs became scarcer in the big urban centers in the Northeast and Midwest) Black urban women faced reduced chances to find a marriage partner with a decent job. (men without a steady job or income potential found themselves shut out of the marriage market) high rates of incarceration among Black urban men Asian American women are more than twice likely to marry non-Asians as are Asian men.

selection effect

the problem that occurs when the cause being studied has already been determined by the outcome that is under investigation

marriage market

the social space in which people search for potential marriage partners Gary Becker (1973): marriage market - buyers line up for spouses to be auctioned off in order from best to worst (naiive/idealistic principle: (1) people have desires that are in conflict - sexual attraction and economic. (2) people make bad decisions. (3) not as many choices as shopping for a car Two assumptions: voluntary competition People use the assets they have to win the qualities they want in a marriage partner

The Benefits of Marriage

turning "inward" can make married couples lonelier than being single 60% very happy 3% not too happy White men are the happiest Black women are the least happy gender differences: It is usually the wife who has the more negative view married people are happier than those who are not married happier people may be more attractive as marriage partners