All the single ladies put your hands up: US marriage rate his all-time low
Julia Roberts running away from marriage in "Runaway Bride"
Love, then marriage, then so and so in a baby carriage is like, so yesterday. More and more modern women are having kids when they feel like it with or without a husband, and some (like myself) don’t plan on having children at all. And then there are women who simply either don’t need a man period or those who enjoy male company but don’t need to put a ring on it to show they’re committed. Alas, friends, modern-day relationships have hit an all time marriage low.
This shouldn’t really surprise anyone, as the marriage rate has been steadily been in a state of decline since the 1970s. As per a new study via Ohio’s Bowling Green State University, “the U.S. marriage rate is 31.1, the lowest it’s been in over a century. That equals roughly 31 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women.” In 1950, the rate was 90.2.
The report continues that the median age a woman gets married (if she chooses to do so at all) is also the highest its been in over a century: yep, women are getting hitched at the ripe old age of 27. That’s practically geriatric, wouldn’t you say? I kid, I kid.
Far more women are also getting unmarried than before. Says the study: “The divorce rate remains high in the U.S., and individuals today are less likely to remarry than they were in the past,” the university said in a statement. “[Marriage is] just one of an array of options. Increasingly, many couples choose to cohabit and still others prefer to remain single.”
And just because I’ve been listening to the Spice Girls again, I’m going to say it: yeah, girl power! The reason all these averages are going up is because more and more women realize that they don’t need a man to be happy.
Don’t get me wrong: being in love is wonderful. But that means being in love with a partner who respects you, loves you, treats you right and treats you like an equal. It does not mean catering to a guy who wants you to look good, clean his house and bear his children.
We’re getting smarter, we gals. Many (there are all exceptions) choose to be independent, make our own futures, seek our own ways. We want to travel the world, have adventures, complete our goals and be happy with who we are before we turn to a man to do the job for us.
Sure, dudes, if you liked it then you should have tried to put a ring on it…but that doesn’t mean we have to say yes.
