Many a little girl and boy grow up dreaming about their wedding day. I know I did. Okay, so maybe the little boys don’t dream about fancy white dresses except for wondering how they’re going to manage all those buttons, but you get my drift. As with a lot of traditions, marriage is also being viewed through new eyes. People are deciding what to do with their lives based on what is right and makes sense for them and not what has traditionally been acceptable. One of the traditions is slowly falling by the wayside is marriage.
Me? Just give me the presents and the honeymoon; I couldn’t care less about the legalities. I’m not alone, and here’s why.
Divorce costing what it does in both money and emotions, people who have gone through it once don’t want to go through it again. Those who have never married are hedging their bets and just not getting married in the first place. No marriage equals no divorce, or so the thinking goes.
Minds get changed. That’s a fickle fact. What’s also changing is the fact that more and more people are willing to acknowledge that their preferences will change. They see no point in legally attaching themselves to someone else for the rest of their lives.
The law is getting on your side; slowly but surely, laws across the US are (or foreseeably will) catching on to the fact that many people don’t want to legally wed but because they share property or children, they are entitled to the same rights under the law as married partners. This is still tricky in a lot of places but if it matters to you, check the laws in your state and start crusading for equal rights for all types of relationships.
Many women don’t relish the idea of being ceremoniously passed off from one man to another; not to mention going from having one mans last name to another. Even ladies who don’t consider themselves to be hardcore feminists are rejected this antiquated tradition in favor of life choices that they feel are more respectful of their autonomy and independence.
Keeping a relationship genuine doesn’t require a piece of paper. That doesn’t mean that married couples aren’t sincerely devoted to each other, however, I’ve had more than a few unmarried couples tell me that they think people who need to make their relationship all legal and official are really just looking for a security blanket to cover their own insecurities about the relationship.
Marriage used to be, bottom line, about getting to have sex in order to procreate. Now, we have seemingly unlimited options as far as when and with whom to have sexy times; and having babies has little or nothing to do with marriage anymore.
Times have proven that getting married and having kids is not the only option. Thankfully we’re more open minded and flexible when it comes to coupledom and the legalities that go along with it. We’re adapting and finding the situation that suits us best.
This post was written by the writers of the Datepad.com internet dating company where you can read thousands of professional dating posts.