The single adults are diverse as well. Some are single by choice, some consist of divorcees and widows, some are lesbian and gay couples that cohabit. In general there are four major groups: Voluntary temporary, voluntary stable, involuntary temporary, involuntary stable; all depending on whether they are forced to or voluntarily remain single and how comfortable they are with remaining single. In later life for example, it gets harder for females to find eligible partners due to multiple reasons. Although singles are diverse, in general majority of singles living alone are older, women, and whites. People chose to live alone because they have total freedom and are able to afford living alone.
There are several reasons why people remain single. Some macro level factors influencing marriage rates are war, changes in economy, technology, social movements and gender roles.
There are also demographic variables such as sex ratios and marriage squeeze. For example in some Asian countries there are many more males than females creating a marriage squeeze for these males. Besides these reasons there are also other factors such as social class, residence status and increased acceptance of nonmarital childbearing. Individually, some people are waiting for a soul mate thus wait until they find somebody that fulfills their expectations. Some people just don't want to have children or already have children or fear divorce or becoming a widow. Some people don't want to commit because they are enjoying being single or enjoy being health and attractive.
In racial and ethical sides, African American women with higher education have a marriage squeeze. There are not enough mates at the same level, thus they are either choosing to marry down or remain single. Again other African American women remain single because their mates get do not want to commit to marriage. Latinos are not as likely to remain single since they are still attached to the ideas of marriage. However with the newer generations are getting more Americanized, thus these figures may change in a few generations. Asians are also less likely to remain single. However, educated Asian women are more involved in interracial or interethnic marriages.
Later the chapter clarifies some myths about singlehood. Here we learn that singles are not selfish as people assume, in fact they are more involved with their relatives. They are also not that well off financially if they are living alone. Some assume singles to be miserable and trying to get married but as we covered earlier, some people enjoy and voluntarily remain single. Some people also assume singles to be promiscuous or not getting enough sex, however singles have more sexual freedom. Singles children are also not doomed because of their parents' singlehood. Also singles apparently don't worry about growing and dying alone. Lastly, there is nothing wrong with people who chose to remain single.
Cohabitation is another way of being single. However in this case singles are in a committed relationship and live in the same household. It seems that cohabitation is growing and its acceptance is increased over the last few decades. There are also different variations. In dating cohabitation, a dating pair slowly starts sharing living quarters and eventually move in together. Premarital cohabitation involves living together before getting married. In a variation called trial marriage, partners live together but are less certain about their relationship. The substitute marriage is the type when partners chose not to get married but live like a married couple. It seems like more people form lower education levels tend to cohabit. There are some benefits of cohabiting such as emotional security, economic benefits, no nasty divorces and easy dissolution of a dysfunctional relationship. On the other side it may be more costly, for example inequalities in chores, more negative effects after marriage, weaker commitment levels, feelings of being trapped in the relationship. According to the chapter, cohabitation does not lead to better marriages. These my be due to several reasons. Selection effect suggest that people who cohabit have distinct characteristics that make their relationships fail. Cohabitation effect may involve individuals who are used to their independence and getting their way, thus cant' handle the married life demands. Inertia effect states that a bland cohabitation may lead to a marriage that eventually becomes to bad to stay in.
Some states forbid cohabitation by labeling these unions immoral. And there is a continuing debate over same-sex marriages. Although some states and some countries allow same sex marriages, many groups still oppose these unions.Some states however give these couples civil union status. Lastly, there are also communal living arrangement. Although in the past there were complicated communal arrangement there are also other types these days. For example co-Abode program matches single mother to a communal living arrangement where they can benefit from each other.
2) New things learned
I found it surprising that cohabitation was illegal in some states. I don't understand why state should see a living arrangement between two unrelated or non-married people as unlawful.
3) Questions
I wonder what my classmates are thinking about remaining single by choice. What is you reason to stay(or not stay) single?
Eser Y
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