Andrew Cherlin (2014/[2004]) asks readers to consider the benefits of marriage in a changed and transitioning social environment that affords couples socially acceptable alternatives to traditional nuptials. In order to understand trends in marriage—why people choose to get married, or choose refrain—Cherlin draws attention to the role of marriage as a social institution and its relationship to other social institutions.
Traditional marriage was once highly regulated by religion.
This essay briefly examines what constitutes a social institution, how these social institutions are interconnected, and highlights two social institutions in relation to marriage in the modern West.
The economy, media, religion, government and politics, sports, education, and marriage and family are all examples of social institutions in modern America. Most of us participate in these institutions on a daily basis: we follow government policies driving to work, we engage in the economy to make a living, we participate in education by taking this class, and some of us even went to church last Sunday, followed by a football game with friends and family. While we can consider each of these social institutions by themselves, we quickly run into problems with this approach because each of these institutions is intricately connected to others. For example, professional sports are connected to the economy: these sports are meant to make big money for team owners and players. Government is involved in all social institutions, providing a policy framework for each of these institutions to operate smoothly. A caucus of congresswomen denounced domestic violence in the NFL in Fall 2014, which led to further consequences and a reconsidering of policies on the part of the league. In sum, social institutions are large, abstract social systems that sustain and produce culture to ensure the smooth functioning of social life. Importantly, social institutions affect large ideals—marriage equality at a federal level, for example—but also have the ability to impact our families and individual lives.
Sociologists have long recognized marriage as a social institution that stabilizes societies, and social policy has promoted marriage in the U.S. (take, for example, the fact that married couples get a federal tax break, simply by virtue of being married). But, as Cherlin (2014/[2004]) argues, the legitimization of other socially acceptable romantic dyads through formal and informal means—namely, same-sex marriage and cohabitation among all couples—are causing marriage to be less important in sustaining society.
One reason Cherlin (2014/[2004]) cites for this change is the shift in the division of labor within the family: as women entered the
Women have entered the work force — at all levels, which changes family dynamics. Pictured are the four women who have served on the Supreme Court of the United States: Sandra Day O’Connor, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader GInsburg, and Elena Kagan
workforce during and after World War II, men were and are expected to help with more of the household and caring activities within the house—although it is important to note that women, even as late as 2014, still performed about 20% more housework than men. As the economy required two incomes and it became acceptable and even necessary for women to enter the labor force, the family changed, and so did marriage.
Cherlin (2014/[2004]) also points out that marriage was once the only legitimate means of sexual expression between two individuals. But church attendance has declined since the 1950s, and so religious proscriptions on premarital sex have also waned. At the same time (and perhaps in conjunction with declining church attendance), the sexual liberation front swept across America, affecting media, and the public’s perceptions of sex broadly. Two people who are romantically inclined to one-another are no longer shamed for living together outside the context of marriage as they once were. And while “hooking up” is still a bit taboo, it’s much more mainstream than it was even 20 or 30 years ago.
With changing social norms and economic pressures, families have also adapted and changed.
Social institutions are important in all aspects of our lives; Cherlin (2014/[2004]) gives us a window to the complexity of institutions via the example of marriage. This week, use Twitter to give your followers a view into the way social institutions impact your life. First, what social institutions are regularly present in your life? How are they visible? In the caption, note the impact of the social institution. In your reply tweet, identify the level (i.e., macro, meso, micro) at which the social institution is impacting your classmate and explain why. A reply tweet ought to follow this model: “Meso: Bill’s example of X affects his entire community, but not the entire society.”
See Cherlin, Andrew. (2014/[2004]). “Excerpts from The Deinstitutionalization of American Marriage,” in Thirty Readings in Introductory Sociology. Kenneth A. Gould and Tammy L. Lewis, eds. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 131-146.
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