We've all heard it at least once in our lifetime. We all get attacked and belittled. We all have to carry that burden that our generation has attached to it. "Back in our day divorce was unheard of, if something was broken we fixed it." I completely agree that it's almost fetch to go through divorce in today's society. Here are my reasons as to why divorce might be higher than the "good ol' days."
Sex
Yes, sex is a tough subject, but let's talk sex. From the stories I hear, women were not know to just have sex for the sake of having sex. Men on the other hand have been known to be sexual beings since the beginning of time. The taboo behind sex stopped many women from participating in it which meant for most women their husband was their first sexual experience-- they had nothing to compare it to. Fast forward in today's society sex is recreational. Everyone is having sex and schools are talking to teens about "safe sex." Women are having many experiences with men which leads to comparison of both the act and size. Sex is not just for reproduction, but also recreation. Access to sex is common and marriage is not seen as means to achieve it.
Women In The Workforce
Because dual income exists women do not depend on men as much as they did when the man was the breadwinner. Again, rumor has it that when women found out that their husband cheated they would "fix what was broken." It was tough for a woman who did not work to leave her husband, because she did not have the financial means to do so.
Happiness
We are all as a society becoming selfish with our happiness. Both men and women would stay with their significant others even if they were not happy because that is what society expected. A divorce was only seen among celebrities and they were always criticized for it.
LGBTQ
Again, this taboo was broken. Although this might still be tough for some to admit it is widely accepted. I cannot tell you how many videos I encountered with elderly people who widowed speaking on the fact that they got married just to hide their identity as non-heterosexuals. They did not divorce their significant other, but chose to live a life that society approved of. I recently heard a story of a woman who divorced her husband and got re-married to a woman. This is something that she felt free to do.
Technology/Social Media
Let's face it Facebook has been linked to cheating. Cheating is something that can happen with or without FB, however it makes it easier and at times more private, unless they get caught. The Apps such as "calculator" which appears to be a calculator, but in reality is an app in which you can hide pictures and other files. This leads to trust issues., i.e Divorce.
Unrealistic Expectations
We are among a generation that expects marriage to be a fairy tale. I will admit this makes it so that when we see a minor problem in a relationship we run! We can all thank Disney for giving us those expectations, but toilets don't clean themselves and unless your families live close to one another you might not always get to go to your mom's house for Christmas.
There are many other reasons as to why divorce occurs, but it is not to say that it is okay. It is an epidemic that can be prevented in many ways the biggest being premarital counseling. Most of us dream of getting married to the love of our lives, but let’s get informed and mentally prepared because from what I understand divorce is painful and expensive.
