Cohabitation, or "shacking up," as Dr. Laura (and I) still call it, leads to marriage.
That goes against what Dr. Laura says. Shacking up is one of her main no-nos, in her countercultural preaching. She often rattles off a few statistics (which may or may not be current) to try to bolster her point.
And yet, if someone is a marriage seller, as she is, I can use statistics to point out that cohabitation leads to marriage:
1) Most people in our culture who marry lived together before they married.
2) Couples who don't live together are far less likely to marry each other.
There it is! CONCLUSIVE PROOF that living together leads to marriage!
Right?
Well, in fairness:
1) Many people live together but never marry each other.
2) "Couples who don't live together" includes all those people who are only couples for a few months and then break up; of course they didn't marry.
My overall point is that using statistics can be misleading, as I already pointed out in this post, "Thinking Critically About Cohabitation."
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm not advocating living together unmarried with a romantic or sexual partner. I generally think it is a terrible idea. But more and more people will not marry someone unless they live with them first. To me, that's all the more reason to avoid shacking up, as I discourage most men from marrying and encourage them to stay free. Despite what Dr. Laura says, when a guy has his girlfriend living with him, it reduces his freedom.
That goes against what Dr. Laura says. Shacking up is one of her main no-nos, in her countercultural preaching. She often rattles off a few statistics (which may or may not be current) to try to bolster her point.
And yet, if someone is a marriage seller, as she is, I can use statistics to point out that cohabitation leads to marriage:
1) Most people in our culture who marry lived together before they married.
2) Couples who don't live together are far less likely to marry each other.
There it is! CONCLUSIVE PROOF that living together leads to marriage!
Right?
Well, in fairness:
1) Many people live together but never marry each other.
2) "Couples who don't live together" includes all those people who are only couples for a few months and then break up; of course they didn't marry.
My overall point is that using statistics can be misleading, as I already pointed out in this post, "Thinking Critically About Cohabitation."
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm not advocating living together unmarried with a romantic or sexual partner. I generally think it is a terrible idea. But more and more people will not marry someone unless they live with them first. To me, that's all the more reason to avoid shacking up, as I discourage most men from marrying and encourage them to stay free. Despite what Dr. Laura says, when a guy has his girlfriend living with him, it reduces his freedom.
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