My grandparents met on a blind date in Atlanta, GA. They dated for about four months before taking their relationship to the next level by tying the knot.
The two were madly in love and maintained a happy and healthy marriage for over 40 years until my grandfather passed away in 1999. Nowadays, it is rare to find a love that lasts like my grandparents' did.
Currently, the U.S divorce rate is at a whopping 50%, but why? As times have changed, so have the dynamics of modern-day marriages.
If I had told my friends I was going to marry my boyfriend after we had been dating for four months, they would think I was insane. But when my grandparents announced their engagement after just a month of being together, their friends and family were elated!
So what has changed?
Look at your grandparents and their friends, how many of them are divorced? I bet very few of them have split. Yes, this may be due to the cultural norms in which they were raised, the traditional pressure to be a “loyal housewife”, but could it have anything to do with the fact that our society has coerced us to love differently?
Our generation is fiercely independent. Women are making their own careers and taking on leadership roles now more than ever. This means that the outdated cultural norms of the stay-at-home mom and loyal housewife are long gone. In today’s world, we see marriages as partnerships.
Contradicting the belief that the husband is always the breadwinner of the family, it is increasingly common for both individuals in a marriage bring home the bacon!
Since Americans are a part of an individualistic culture, many marriages may thrive when both people in the relationship have their own careers, but some may find it threatening. Yes, I know its 2018, but there are still men out there that are intimidated by successful women *rolls eyes*.
Could this be part of the reason why half of the married couples in the U.S get divorced?
Marriages are changing, but is it for better, or for worse? On one hand, it is one large step for womankind that we are able to abandon the traditional housewife role and chase our own careers. On the other hand, is this causing modern day marriages to fail?
I think that there are ample reasons why marriages today are dissolving. Social media, successful females, changing cultural norms, hook-up culture, etc. all are factors that can tear apart a marriage.
The question now is- how can we fix it? How can we rewrite the rules of society to allow for two independently successful partners to have a happy and stable marriage?
I think we are taking steps in the right direction, but only time will tell.
