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Arranged Marriages

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Submitted By cgumbs
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In the world we live in, human beings rely on their socialization skills to survive. These social skills help them to develop interpersonal relationships with each other. One of the main intimate relationships that developed over time is the bond between a man and a woman. This union became sacred in society, and a term “marriage” developed. In their book, The Ties that Bind: Perspectives on Marriage and Cohabitation, Bachrach, Hindin, and Thomson define marriage “as a legally and socially recognized union, ideally lifelong, that entails sexual, economic, social rights and obligations for the partners” (3-16). Since the evolution of marriages, there have also been arranged marriages. This can be seen as the arrangement of a marriage by a third party, usually by the couple’s parents. Arranged marriages may lead to a longer lasting relationship than non-arranged marriages, because the success of the marriage is stronger with a support system, since the parents, community, religion, and cultural background are involved in making and sustaining the marriage bond. Initially one might believe that arranged marriages are a distinct feature of the eastern societies but the western societies also have deep roots and seeds of arranged marriage customs and traditions. Arranged marriages have existed for centuries, and it traditions are still practiced today. Many might see an arranged marriage as forced or unwanted but studies done by Myers, Madathil, and Tingle “showed that differences in marital satisfaction between arranged and non-arranged couples are typically insignificant” (183-190). Even a study conducted by Schwartz, “found that ratings of passion, intimacy, and commitment were not significantly different between arranged and non-arranged marriages. Her study also study also noted a lower rate of divorce among arranged marriage couples than non-arranged couples”

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