More thoughts on marriage

I continued pondering the issue of marriage and the emphasis on how important it is in certain cultures for a women to be married by a certain age. Let's put aside the fact that it's insulting to women and a rather degrading view of what women are like, since we don't really need a man to support us financially, and we don't need to have a husband to define ourselves. This has already been said a thousand times before, of course there are still people out there to whom this needs to said, but that is not the point I want to make here.

My point is that this view of marriage, where it's almost a business transaction, is an insult to the institution of marriage, and to true love.

It may very well be so that when the institution of marriage was first created, it was to be a practical, business-like arrangement. I'm not brushed up on my history enough to knows this. It is true that in the past, it was hard to be a single woman and make a living for yourself, since it was a patriarchal society. That is unfortunately still the case, but come on...let's be honest here, in today's modern society women can fend for themselves, if she lives in a developed country where she is able to get a job and perhaps even a career. So, that eliminates the argument that women need men to support them financially.

As far as women needing men to define themselves, well...that's just sad.
I can't stand it when people judge women over 25 for being single, as if there's something terribly wrong with them.

'Oh dear, what will happen to Jane...she's 29 and not married!'

Incredibly insulting and very shallow. Yes, it is shallow to regard marriage as something one must do in order to be a whole person.

The point is, marriage is supposed to be about love and commitment, not about desperation or money or doing what is socially correct, and it should always be about love and sharing your life with someone. To use it for other purposes feels wrong. It should never be regarded as a must, or as a business arrangement. Arranged marriages to me always seemed like a disregard of love.

Just my opinion.