Why Couples Get Married

If you were to ask 100 people "Why do you think couples marry?" There is a pretty good bet that a large percentage would say "Because they have fallen in love and want to spend there lives together." It would be hard to imagine a marriage being a good without love. But, is marriage really just about the feelings or is there a little more to it?

There is plenty of evidence that love is the key to a successful marriage. But how does society affect who we fall in love with? Society has many standards of who is an acceptable or unacceptable suitor. Most states laws rule out half the population by banning same sex marriage. But there are other standards,without even realizing it most people follow them. Sociologists have discovered that people are more likely to marry someone close in their age group. People of all ages generally marry within the same race, or social background. Most find someone with a similar educational background and similar amounts of physical attractiveness. People choose who they love, but society narrows down their selection quite a bit. I don't really agree with these standards, but generally people comply with the social norms and that is how this is determined.

Sociologist Lillian Rubin found that higher-income women expect men that they marry to be kind to others, to communicate with them, and to share their life with them. As women from lower incomes were happy to find someone who doesn't drink too much, were not violent, and could hold a job. This really shows how finances can impact who you marry. When you have more money you don't worry as much about security as you would compatibility. When you don't have as much money you want to find someone that you not only love, but will also be able to provide for you and have stability.

It is strange how sociology can affect every detail of our life such as who we may marry or what kind of an education we may receive. I still like to believe that you love who you love and when you meet them you'll just know. But I've found that the science behind it can be very interesting as well.