Do married people enjoy some level of social prestige or respect, or do we just not care about this anymore?
Full disclosure: I’m not simply posting this Open Thread to generate an interesting discussion. I’m working on an article about social perceptions of married men and how these perceptions might differ in various parts of the world. The saying goes (at least in the USA and parts of Eastern Europe) that married men are taken more seriously at work, looked upon as more stable figures in their communities, perhaps even trusted at a higher level. The saying on the flip side is that women have a monopoly on all decisions marriage-related, from the wedding to whatever-end-may-come, and that some often define themselves as valuable simply because they’re married. Of course, we’ve learned that if these sayings contain kernels of truth, they are only kernels. I’m curious to see if these kernels have been composted long ago.
So here’s the question, for men and women: Did your friends, peers, co-workers and neighbors perceive you differently after you got married? Were you treated differently? Tell us how. It’s also important to ask if you expected some different treatment following your wedding.
If you’re comfortable, please note what part of the world you’re writing from. I look forward to your responses and will participate as time allows.
Photo by Alaskan Dude.
We didn’t expect that getting married would change much. We thought we’d get a handful of state rights, and that our tax forms would become that much more difficult to complete. We also figured we’d have a cool party, and be paying it off for years. All of this has proven true. The surprises were that ritual and celebration are still meaningful. That people coming together, driving or flying for hours to get there, and spending the day with us, made them part of the contract. All of those people make up some of the social glue that makes us… Read more »