Assignment 6


1) Briefly describe the trend in cohabitation over the past thirty years.

The trend in cohabitation over the past thirty years has changed because before the 1960s, cohabitation was common mainly among the poor and the neat poor.  For many cohabitation served as an acceptable substitute for legal marriage.  Then in 1970, the proportion of all young adults who lived with someone prior to marrying increased.  By the early 2000. About 60 percent of women in there 30s have cohabitated, and 62 percent of marriages were preceded by a period of cohabitation.  Cohabitation continues to be more common among the less affluent and less well educated.  In 2007 two out of five opposite-sex, unmarried partners had the children of one, or both partners present.  Over the past decade, most of the rise in childbearing outside marriage has been the result of births to cohabitating couples. 


2) According to your textbook by Cherlin, cohabitation has three diverse meanings. Please list and describe these using your own words.

1.  An alternative way of being single- This type of couples lives together, and are sexually intimate, but are not legally committed to each other, and do not consider themselves in a monogamous relationship.  These couples are not looking to be married, and enjoy their freedom of having the opportunity to end the relationship at any time if they want. 

2.  A testing ground for marriage- this type of couple lives together.  They share a living space to see if they are compatible roommates and can work well together under one roof.  Working-women use this advantage of cohabitation to see if their partner will share the housework equally with them. 

3.  A alternative to marriage- This is a couple that has children together but is not legally married, and decided to stay unmarried, even after the couple bears a child.  This is especially common in racial/ethnic groups.     

3) Would you consider cohabitation? Why or why not? If you would consider cohabiting, which of these meanings coincides with how you might view your own cohabiting relationship.

I would defiantly consider cohabitation because I think it is a smart choice to live with your future partner, to see if you are capable of getting along under one roof, and each being mature adults and taking equal responsibility for the up-keep and finances of the living situation.  A testing ground for marriage coincides with how I would view my cohabitating relationship.  I personally think it is not smart to just get married and live with someone you have never lived with before, because it changes the dynamic of the relationship because you are together more often, being that they live under one roof.  It also tests each partner to see how well they can negotiate as a couple, with certain tasks and duties that are to be shared between the two partners.   

4) After reading the boxed section on Domestic Partnerships on pages 228-29 in Chap 7 of your textbook, and going over the PowerPoint slides, list 4 of the rights that married couples receive that cohabiting couples want?

1.  They can include each other as beneficiaries on pension and annuity plans offered by their employers, and they can purchase health insurance for each other through their employers. 

2.  They can file a joint income tax return, which may reduce their tax liability. 

3.  They can adapt a child together.

4.  In the event of a divorce, they are both normally entitled to either custody or visitation rights. 

5) Do you believe that cohabiting heterosexual couples should have the same rights as married couples? Why or why not? What if the couple is the same-sex and cannot marry in their state, should they receive the same benefits of married people. Why or why not?

I personally believe that cohabitating heterosexual couples should not have the same rights as married couples because if they are not a legal couple, then they should not have the same legal rights as a married couple has.  I believe that it would allow a cohabitating couple to not take responsibility for any legal matters, and if the couple was to ever separate, they would still be benefitting from certain rights that married couple have, even when they aren’t together.  Although I personally support same-sex marriage, I believe that any legal matters that benefit married couples should stay as marriage benefits.  If cohabitating couples were able to receive the same benefits as married couples, I believe that it would decrease the rate in marriage, and more children would wind up in single parent households.  I believe that marriage should have some separate benefits from cohabitating couples, because couples that are committed to each other in that way are suitable and acceptable of receiving certain benefits.