Age of Marriage

Bailey Fedler

Sociology 120

Jackie Hartley

Most children are always told, “Wait to get married” or, “You have your whole life to be with one person”, so it’s easy to see that marrying at a later age would be a given for young women everywhere. Today’s late age at marriage along with the ever decreasing age gap difference between couples do not appear to harm women in anyway. In fact, it appears that this trend actually benefits young women on multiple accounts.

Now, we all know that a parent shouldn’t decide when their child should start to think about marriage, but generally it is preferred when their son or daughter waits until their late 20’s. By being older at marriage, or around the age of at least 26 or so, you are more likely to be considered “full grown”. It is a common fact that as teenagers, everyone appears to go through “stages” and whether good or bad, these phases don’t end until after at least the age of twenty. But with the rise of cohabitation, it seems that trying out married life is getting easier and if someone decides to change their mind, there is no need for divorce. Considering “Rising cohabitation compensates for 2/3 of rising age at marriage (Lecture 13/14)”, it is no wonder that it is now being called the “Precursor to marriage (Lecture 13/14)”.

Now in Andrew J. Cherlin’s book Public and Private Families: An Introduction, it suggests that “So great has been the increase in cohabitation that it has compensated in large part for the postponement of marriage.” By cohabitating, people are able to enjoy being together without the commitment of being married or the pressure of starting a family. By doing so, a career can still develop as well as feelings and therefore you can still change your mind about the perfect spouse before marriage. Cohabitation benefits both men and women and allows them to grow not only economically, but personally as well.

Continuing with the idea that you are a young adult, a younger woman will not...