Marriage - Stephanie Reynolds

Before reading the module materials, I used to think marriage was an essential institution for a male and female to raise children in. After reading all the material though, my perception on marriage has changed. For example, marriage that was likely to have a long-term committment before children was the accepted norm in Western society, now; pretty much anything goes. People have children without that committment or marriage, and it's still seen as acceptable in different societies, including our own, today. Marriage as we know it is not always the right answer, as seen in the Na and southwest Chinese cultures mentioned in the textbook. The Na people do not even have a word for marriage in their language, and they certainly do things differently concerning relationships in their culture. Children are still raised and cared for properly, even though no one in their society is married, even the parents.

In the article about arranged marriages in India, the author seems worried about the young woman, Sita, whose parents are arranging her marriage. I had the same ideas about arranged marriages the author had at first, but I soon saw the subject in a more positive light. Many couples today go through some sort of process of falling in love, breaking up, getting back together again, and possibly getting married after all that. Some singles have to date different singles, or even sometimes married people, before finding the "right one," if that even happens at all. Sheesh, it does seems a lot better for the parents to do the searching, and the young person to worry about the details and getting to know the other person later. Like Sita said; she was able to enjoy her life and pursue her goals instead of constantly worry about finding her Prince Charming. Seeing young people make rash decisions, and sometimes regretting them, because he/she was "in love" seems to make arranged marriages a good solution.

My understanding of marriage has changed considerably from reading the materials in this module. Even though I still think being in a HEALTHY marriage provides a more stable environment to raise a family in, but that "marriage" can be defined in different ways. From arranged marriages to gay marriages, and even with no marriage; each society has its own ideas surrounding relationships. Like gay or arranged marriages, you might not agree or approve of them, but they still exist. Each society has its own set of marriage rules as well, such as incest taboos, mentioned in the textbook. Also, each society has its own ways to deal with illegitimate children, abuse/neglect, divorce, and rape/molestation, which could occur. Western society may not see eye-to-eye with the other society's methods or consequences surrounding these issues, but that doesn't neccessarily make them wrong.