Changing Roles in Marriage

Reminders: Article Assignments Now Due! If you have not

submitted yours please see me at the end of class.

Today’s Class Objectives: Investigate the changing roles in marriage

Compare traditional roles of the past with today

Look closely at the “5 Types of Marriage” Conflict-Habituated Devitalized Passive-Congenial Vital Total

All wedding rituals usually have two things in common: A Ceremony held in public with witnesses, and; Legal requirements that must be fulfilled.

Public ceremonies were important in preliterate societies.

By 1215 the church had become the authority of publically marry people.

Legal requirements still include a license, a brief ceremony of some sort during which the couple signify their consent before a minimum number of witnesses, and the signing of a marriage document.

Religious Differences: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism

Roles for each sex in the past have been gender oriented: Men:

Breadwinners Competitive Strong Unemotional Dominant Aggressive

Roles for each sex in the past have been gender oriented: Women: Homemakers Expressive Able to express feelings

and provide emotional support.

There is now more acceptance that men can be gentle, tender, responsive and considerate.

More women enter the workforce and they are learning to be more assertive in their behavior.

Men can no longer assume that a woman will play a subservient role in the marriage partnership.

Women can no longer assume that they can expect financial support and security in marriage.

Men are expected to obtain an income, but they must also take equal responsibility in the home for nurturing the other family members and for maintaining the household.

Women are also experiencing changing roles. On one hand, they are expected to meet the demands made on them by their jobs. On the other, most women still have prime responsibility for the home and caring for the family members.

In Canada and other Western countries divorce is on the rise.

This phenomenon has lead scholars to try and determine the characteristics of successful marriages, and what factors contribute to making them work.

Cuber and Harroff (1983) conducted detailed interviews with 211 people.

They covered how they lived together, expressed themselves sexually, raised their children, and operated in the outside world.

They found that the marriages could be divided into five distinct styles.

The Five Types of Marriage Cuber and Harroff discovered were:

1. Conflict-Habituated 2. Devitalized 3. Passive-Congenial 4. Vital 5. Total

You will know take a minute to divide up into 5 different groups.

You will randomly select one of the types of marriage from a hat and your group will have 10-15 minutes to devise a skit/script.

At least 2 of your group will then come to the front of class and act out your skit depicting the 5 various types of marriage to the class.

Any questions? What did we learn?

The roles within marriages is changing (male/female roles).

The five basic types of marriages which exist.

Next Week: Stages in a relationship Adjusting to married life