The institutional marriage was help together by community pressure and the autho

The institutional marriage was help together by community pressure and the authority of the family head. But by the mid-twentieth century, it had been eclipsed by the companionship marriage, which was held together more by mutual affection and intimacy. The ideal type of companionship marriage was the single-earner breadwinner-homemaker family that flourished in the 1950s. Beginning in the late 1960s, this model was overtaken by the individualized marriage, in which both spouses were increasingly concerned with personal growth and self-fulfillment. In the individualized marriage, the relationship between spouses tends to be seen as an ongoing project that is open to negotiation and change.
Although Americans now have more choices about their personal lives, most still marry. Marriage still provides some benefits that cohabitation does not, such as greater trust in one’s partner’s commitment. However, people also see marriage as a symbol of achieving a successful adult life. They build up to marriage, postponing it until they have all the prerequisites in place. They use religious wedding ceremonies (rather than courthouse weddings) to display their personal achievements to friends and relatives.
Prior to 1970, cohabitation was found largely among the poor. Since the practice has expanded greatly at all income levels. In the United States today a majority of marriages are now preceded by a period of cohabitation. These unions tend to lead within a few years either to marriage or a breakup. Cohabitation is a diverse phenomenon that includes not only childless couples, but also couples with children. A substantial share of the children who are officially born outside of marriage are actually born to two cohabiting parents. For some people, cohabitation is part of the marriage process; for others it is an alternative way of being single; and for other, particularly low-income groups it is an alternative to marriage.
Discussion Instructions Choose only 1 of these options
Option 1
Do you believe that marriage is still the best way to form a family? What are the benefits and costs of marriage (not the financal aspects but the drawbacks or the negatives), and how do they affect families? Please be specific. Try to support your opinion with a reference from the textbook.
Option 2
Share your own experiences with marriage, divorce, or cohabitation, it can be your own marriage or the expereices of the family you grew up with. This option is only for those who feel comfortable sharing their own personal stories or experiences with marriage, divorce, or cohabitation.