Delayed Marriage

Emily Bloomfield
English 101-037
Susan Garrison
8 November 2011
“I Do” But Not Yet
In 2006, homes in America headed by married couples dropped below 50% for the first time, making married households no longer the majority (Bronson and Merryman par. 1). In past years, women were expected to marry early in age to start a family while the husband worked and provided for the whole family. Since a large number of women have begun to wait until in their late twenties, this has been commonly called “The Marriage Delay” (Bronson and Merryman par. 3). The delayed marriage rates have risen because of financial considerations, because more people are going to college, and because women have become more independent. Before people even noticed a rise in delayed marriage it was something that was expected and every girl grew up wanting to get married. Many women did not go to college and also did not have jobs to support themselves. They would live at home until they met a guy who courted them and eventually once they became married they would then move in together. The woman would stay at home, clean the house and cook the food while the husband had the money. This was the social norm, but they would gradually see that change. Compared to the past, marriage has become less important and other things have become priorities before people will consider becoming a husband or wife. One of the priorities is that men and women in the 21st century increasingly want to be financially secure before going through holy matrimony and delay marriage until they feel that they are secure. With the economy plunging as it is (Economy par. 2), it seems to be the safest choice and being financially stable once you are married can reduce the stress of having a lack of money. If people wait until they are in their late twenties they have usually had a couple of jobs and know what they want to do. Once they have found a job in the career they want to pursue, they will more than likely be making a steady paycheck that they can rely on each month. Once they feel secure in their career and know that they can support a family, they will be more inclined to become married. Another factor in the rising trend of delayed marriage is that, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, a larger percentage of people are attending college right out of high school than in the past, which brings up how many employers also require a college degree to work at their business. These are usually businesses where people can make their careers at and without the college degree, many jobs are only part-time and have odd hours. Therefore, most people need to attend college and it takes up their early twenties. In the past, women would already be getting married and having children. In an interview with Dolores Bender on November 24, 2011, she explained that, when she was younger, all she wanted to do was “get married and have kids” and that is exactly what she did. Now people do not have the time, with extensive college classes, to prepare for a wedding so they choose to just wait until later in age to do the ceremony. While more people are attending college and delaying their marriages, there has also been a change in the way women live their lives over the decades. While the standard used to be that women got married at an early age, sometimes in their teens, it gradually has gone up and many are becoming less dependent on having a man to take care of them. “Fifty years ago, after all, a woman didn 't need to attend college or have a career before marrying, and she didn 't need to "live on her own" to get to know herself” (Bronson and Merryman par. 5). Since the number of people going to college has gone up and women have more rights, more women are going to college than, for example, in the 50’s or 60’s. They are getting their own college degree and are able to take care of themselves and live on their own for longer times. Since delayed marriage has become very popular in just a short time, it can only be assumed that it will begin to be the normal thing for people to do. Many have even questioned if getting married is becoming a thing of the past and they could more than likely be correct in their hypothesis. Since we already see people waiting longer to become married, eventually they may start to wait so long to where they never get married. Many have also wondered if the divorce rates have had an impact on when people are becoming married. “But the divorce rate has not gone up in twenty years; in fact, it 's been fairly stable at around 42 percent” (Bronson and Merryman par. 6). So while divorce rates are not changing, maybe they could begin to go down if more people are not getting married in the first place. The rates of delayed marriage have gone up and it is seen more and more because of the number of people attending college and, as mentioned before, many other reasons. Because many of these causes overlap, like not being financially stable until after college and more people going to college, they end up working together to produce more delayed marriage and soon no one will even question why people have begun to wait until a later age to have a husband or wife. The trend of waiting until later in age will just be what everyone does. It may even get to a point where it is odd for two people to become married early in age.

Works Cited

Bender, Dolores. Personal interview. 24 Nov. 2011.
Bronson, Po, and Ashley Merryman. "Has Being Married Gone Out of Style?" TIME U.S. 18 Oct. 2006. Web. 08 Nov. 2011.
"Economy Needs Nearly Trillion-Dollar Input." USA Today Magazine 137.2764 (2009): 6-7. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.
"Fast Facts." National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a Part of the U.S. Department of Education. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.

Cited: Bender, Dolores. Personal interview. 24 Nov. 2011. Bronson, Po, and Ashley Merryman. "Has Being Married Gone Out of Style?" TIME U.S. 18 Oct. 2006. Web. 08 Nov. 2011. "Economy Needs Nearly Trillion-Dollar Input." USA Today Magazine 137.2764 (2009): 6-7. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. "Fast Facts." National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a Part of the U.S. Department of Education. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.