Chapter 8 begins with the author discussing the dating pool. Dating is defined and established to the reader. The author elaborates on how dating is connected to marriage in a sense. How we filter out people according to their characteristics to see if they are right for us. It is later in the chapter, but the author shows a filter theory model where he basically shows how we break our potential mates down and filter them until we find one that possesses all of the qualities we are looking for. Speaking of qualities, the chapter then discusses in two categories, why we in fact date. The manifest category consists of companionship and love while the latent category consists of social status and big business. To me, there is an evident line that separates the two. The author touches on traditional dating and its factors, but really digs into the different ways we date in this society. From classified ads and professional match making to speed/cyber dating and even mail order brides. This brings me into my new and interesting fact which follows this summary. Continuing on, the chapter brings light on the fact of how a lot of people now a days don’t follow the mainstream idea of relationships. This is show through same-sex relationships, social class issues which deal with people deciding to ‘marry up or down’ their own class and how that will affect them, inter faith relationship and also inter-racial relationships.
New info- Did you know that the majority of consumers who pursue mail order brides according to the chapter is said to be white males between the ages of 20 and 50 years old? The ones who pursue them are said to say that they were tired of independent American women and all the trouble they give them. The fact that our society condones mail order brides to me shows how the sanctity of marriage has gone out the window. But that is just me.
Question: Contrary to our society, It is said that in many different cultures people have marriages arranged for them. How do you think that effects the freedom one feels; is it a given right to them to choose their mate and do you think it is right?
I think arranged marriages would definitely have a negative effect on one's freedom. The people involved in an arranged marriage would feel the pressure of having to conform to the qualities that their spouse desires. You would have to change who you are in order to make the marriage work. Yes, some minor changes are good in relationships, especially if they are positive changes, but good marriages are ones that bring people together because of their similarities, not their differences.
ReplyDeleteI think one should be able to freely decide who they want to spend the rest of their life with. Arranged marriages definitely have a negative effect on one's freedom. If two people are forced to be together things could have the potential to get ugly. To make a marriage work people must have a foundation of love. In most cases with arranged marriages, there is no love. I think it would be extremely hard to keep a healthy marriage when there is no love.
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