As I prepped for my first blog posting for CT NOW, I anxiously typed "Connecticut women" into Google in search of some inspiration only to be bombarded with UCONN women's basketball facts and various voters and leche leagues. I skimmed through various news articles and found nothing I considered to be worthy of discussing for all the world to see. Then, while getting sidetracked, I decided to read an article that my boyfriend had sent me earlier via e-mail. This article, titled "Marriage in America: The frayed knot", analyzes and highlights the importance of marriage and discusses the "marriage inequality gap" that is slowly affecting this country.
"The 'marriage gap' is the chief source of the country's notorious and widening inequality. Middle-class kids growing up with two biological parrents are 'socialised for success'. They do better in school, get better jobs and go on to create intact families of their own. Children of single parents or broken families do worse in school, get worse jobs and go on to have children out of wedlock. This makes it more likely that those born near the top or the bottom will stay where they started...America is turning into 'a nation of separate and unequal families'".
After reading the article, a couple things came to mind. Firstly, despite the article discussing why marriage is important, the article doesn't express the various justifiable reasons that women may end their marriages; such as mental or physical abuse, infidelity, etc.
Secondly, I understand that the author strongly attributes monetary stability and success with marriage and it makes me question why women are really marrying. The article points out that single mothers usually make 20k or less and that married couples make 75k+. I can't help but think that we as women feel a societal obligation to marry simply for that financial cushion to provide for our children. At one point in the article, marriage is referenced as a "wealth-generating institution" and I couldn't help but chuckle because it is so true, although many don't take the time to think about it. Although we live in the land of the free, financial concerns still greatly affect single American mothers, often leaving women trapped in abusive and/or unhealthy marriages. Sure, we're free to leave...but then what? Back to 20k or less.
So tell me what you think: Are women getting married for love or married for financial stability?
I also read, most recently, women of divorce are re-marrying the same prior husband simply for insurance reasons.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting article. I find it interesting that there's an incentive for people to get married, b/c you get a tax break. And, as stated above, helath insurance is also an issue. But can't you get married for both?
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