Posted on 08/13/2003 9:40:36 AM PDT by ddodd3329
Why do fewer people marry?
According to a 1999 National Vital Statistics Report from the CDC, 7.4 per 1,000 Americans married in 1998. From 1990 to 1995, the marriage rate dropped from 9.8 to 7.6. Different sources render other statistics but the trend remains sharply downward.
There is never a single or comprehensive explanation for complex phenomena that are rooted deeply in human psychology. Non-marriage is a particularly difficult issue to address because, as a recent paper from Rutgers University entitled "Why Men Won't Commit" explains, official sources are scarce. "The federal government issues thousands of reports on nearly every dimension of American life. ... But it provides no annual index or report on the state of marriage." Much of the discussion of the motives surrounding non-marriage must be anecdotal, therefore, relying on statistics to provide framework and perspective.
In examining reasons for the current decline of marriage, one question usually receives short shrift. Why are men reluctant to marry?
The Rutgers report -- admittedly based on a small sample -- found ten prevalent reasons. The first three:
They can get sex without marriage;
They can enjoy "a wife" through cohabitation; and,
They want to avoid divorce and its financial risks.
As a critic of anti-male bias in the family courts, the reasons I hear most frequently from non-marrying men are fear of financial devastation in divorce and of losing meaningful contact with children afterward. (Such feedback is anecdotal evidence but, when you hear the same response over a period of years from several hundred different sources, it becomes prudent to listen.)
In a similar vein, the Rutgers report finds: "Many men also fear the financial consequences of divorce. They say that their financial assets are better protected if they cohabit rather than marry. They fear that an ex-wife will 'take you for all you've got' and that 'men have more to lose financially than women' from a divorce."
Increasingly, men are stating their reasons for not marrying on the Internet. In an article entitled "The Marriage Strike," Matthew Weeks expresses a sentiment common to such sites, "If we accept the old feminist argument that marriage is slavery for women, then it is undeniable that -- given the current state of the nation's family courts -- divorce is slavery for men."
Weeks provides the math. One in two marriages will fail with the wife being twice as likely to initiate the proceedings on grounds of "general discontent" -- the minimum requirement of no-fault divorce. The odds of the woman receiving custody of children are overwhelming, with many fathers effectively being denied visitation. The wife usually keeps the "family" assets and, perhaps, receives alimony as well as child support. Many men confront continuing poverty to pay for the former marriage.
>>>Continued<<<
(Excerpt) Read more at dondodd.com ...
It would indeed be a good response, unfortunately I was so stunned that I didn't know what to say at the time. I had never had a lady say anything like that to me for opening a door. Luckily the older fella' took care my retort.
Wonderful, I hope you enjoy being the old maid type. Meanwhile take the attitude and stick it. You sound like most liberal women I've had the displeasure of knowing. Have a nice life.
Now that you mention it, she does sound rather clintonian...
No, that's her way. As well as legions of others.
I love men and what they can do for me and what I can get out of it. You're simply wrong, I love men.Does anybody here believe that this person loves men. I don't, not for a minute. You've picked an appropriate screen name, snowstorm, because you exude about as much warmth.
The problem isn't that snowstorm is an anomaly; no, she's everywhere you look.
Women in America crack me up---they don't know what oppression is. Maybe we could start rotating them in and out of some Muslim countries, for example. Would probably be quite a learning experience.
I was somewhat serious about immigration earlier. It may be necessary as a matter of survival. Many of these women come from countries where there is true oppression, and they would jump at the opportunity to hook up with a guy like you, friend. So pay snowstorm no mind with her feminist rants.
Like so many women in this country, she's not oppressed. She's spoiled rotten, spoiled to the point where nothing and nobody will ever satisfy her.
Just as in Biblical times the Israelites were warned about marrying members of foreign tribes, the reverse may be true about contemporary America. When I hear most women in America talk, their values sound alien to me.
Maybe it's time to breed them out of existence.
Yes....some rich, white, establishment sort of guy. The kind she exhorted her 'sisters' for years to avoid.
I wonder how many of Gloria's fans are sitting at home alone right now while Gloria trots the globe and laughs all the way to the bank.
Here's a hint: If you have children as a result of being impregnated by a man, those children belong to both of you, not just YOU. You really should go back to DemocraticUnderground.com as you have exposed yourself as a selfish, liberal hussy.
Nevermind that Moissanite costs 10% of a diamond's cost, is more brilliant and has more fire and that other 90% value that would be wasted on a diamond could be put into a retirement fund for both of us, add to a downpayment on a house, establish an education fund for future children or private schooling or whatever...
I caught that also. You'll notice a strong 'me' theme in her posts.
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