The Impact of Changes to Marriage and Family on American Society

If there were to be any revelatory changes in American society because of the concept of family and marriage changing, it should manifest as a shift towards secularity and, ideally, an enlightened tolerability of one another. Family and marriage are inevitably subject to evolution. Children are a natural addition to some marriages; some members of society suggest successful parents must be married. However, contemporary society includes single parents. Society’s increasingly secular acceptance of homosexuality seems a natural step to take. Since modern society accepts the luxury of marrying for love and not convenience, it is already evident that heterosexual marriage as we know it has been evolving over time (Feldman, 2013). People have families and marry for tradition or love, so vocal opponents of altering the institution of marriage will have to adapt to modern changes and, in turn, gradually accept it as unavoidable progression.

Correspondingly, St. Thomas Aquinas defined marriage as between a male and a female. However, his definition is based on the Christian ideology that marriage is strictly for procreation and the future of humankind. Since homosexual couples are unable to procreate naturally, people with strong religious affiliations tend to use this concept to declare that marriage does not apply to homosexual couples (Kwaniewski, 2012). To differentiate between heterosexual marriage and homosexual marriage is immediately a disquieting supposition that these two types are inherently different when ultimately they are not. Feldman (2013) has noted homosexuality is often given the stigma of being abnormal and disgusting, which then leads people to conclude that same-sex marriage is morally wrong, even sinful. Additionally, many people incorrectly associate that the current emphasis on the social issue to mean that gay marriage is a new issue that has not existed in any society until recently. However, same-sex marriage has existed for thousands of years in many cultures and homosexuality has also been observed in nature between animals of other species. Ethnographic data from Africa alone reveals that at least 42 different cultures with documented gay or lesbian marriage ceremonies. Biological anthropologists have found that the bonobo, one of the closest living relative of humans’, is often sexually active with members of both the same and opposite sex. Additionally, biologists have also observed that hundreds of other species engage in same-sex behavior (Feldman, 2013). Most importantly however, marriage should not be worried about what is natural or unnatural because it is a social construct. Therefore, the relationships honored by the sanctity of marriage should continue to change and evolve with the needs and social trends of the current human population.

The idea of a family has not changed but the way in which it can be classified or structured has. Pew Research Center’s Social and Demographic Trends (2010) reported a high percentage of respondents disapproved of single mothers. Coincidentally, St. Thomas Aquinas emphasized, “husband and wife…mutually serve each other in rearing their children” (Kawsniewski, 2012, p. 418). On the other hand, respondents believed homosexual couples and unmarried couples were unsuitable parents (Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends, 2010). However, according to Meezan and Rauch (2005), people who believe that homosexual parents are unfit to raise children harbor these beliefs out of their own personal biases instead of factual information that would support their claims. All of the research conducted thus far by the American Psychological Association about homosexual parents in comparison to heterosexual parents has found no scientific basis for concluding that lesbian mothers or gay fathers make unfit parents because of their sexual orientation. No significant research findings suggest that there any noteworthy differences in the development, adjustment, and overall well-being of a child raised by homosexual parents in comparison to heterosexual parents. There is also no evidence that children of homosexual couples experience more confusion about their gender identity or sexual orientation. The only differences that have been observed are positive ones that work in favor of same-sex marriage. Girls raised by lesbian parents tend to be less confined by traditional gender roles and will pursue hobbies and career aspirations without any restriction about whether their interests are masculine or feminine. Similarly, boys who have lesbian parents tend to be less aggressive (Meezan & Rauch, 2005, p. 102-103). Therefore, all current research findings have found that homosexual parents are just as likely as heterosexual parents to provide the nurturing supportive and healthy environments needed for children to thrive.

Additional research about homosexual couples throughout the span of many different cultures has shown that same-sex couples still tend to assume the same characteristics and responsibilities of traditional gender roles. Despite biological sexual orientation, couples always divide their relationship into male and female roles that one partner will choose to identify with. For instance, gay married men in Asia have been observed to divide their roles so that one man is responsible for masculine tasks, such as hunting and fishing, while the other man takes on the domestic tasks typically considered feminine (Polikoff, 2007, p, 1538-1540). Thus, the continuation of gender roles in sex same couples implies that homosexual relationships really are not very different from heterosexual ones.

With marriage becoming more of an option, rather than a necessity for those who are allowed to have it and homosexual marriage slowly gaining acceptance, American society will carry on as it usually does in spite of changes to the family unit. Furthermore, while marriage is and should be a powerful institution valued above other relationships, it is also a social construct. Powerful social forces have played a role in reshaping it before and therefore it would be logical and socially accurate for them to continue to do so. By restricting marriage and family values or refusing to let them evolve with the current social phenomenon, American society will continue to be stained by attitudes of hate and intolerance that prevent true equality of humankind.

References

Feldman, D. (2013, July 15). Gay Marriage: The Struggle Is Far From Over. The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 12, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/american-anthropological-association/gay-marriage-the-struggle-is-far-from-over_b_3573685.html

Kwasniewski, P. (2012). St. Thomas on the Grandeur and Limitations of Marriage. Nova et Vetera (English Edition), 10(2), 415-436.

Meezan, W., & Rauch, J. (2005). Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Parenting, and America's Children. The Future of Children, 15(2), 97-115.

Pew Research Center (2010). Social & Demographic Trends Project: The Decline of Marriage And Rise of New Families (Rep. No. 202.419.4328). Retrieved from http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/

Polikoff, N. (1993). We Will Get What We Ask for: Why Legalizing Gay and Lesbian Marriage Will Not "Dismantle the Legal Structure of Gender in Every Marriage". Virginia Law Review, 79(7), 1535-1550.