It’s a relatively well-known fact that fewer millennials are getting married today than people of previous generations were at the same age. According to a Gallup poll taken in late 2014, only about 20% of millenials ages 18-30 are married. When the members of the generation prior, the Gen-Xers, were the same age, 32% were married. For baby boomers, the number was over 40%.
So why the sudden decline in marriage rates? After chatting with a group of senior Emerson women, there appears to be no simple answer.
For some women, like Faith, it’s a matter of simply prioritizing a career over marriage. “I’m at a point in my life where all I want honestly is a great career and a dog,” she says. “Nothing against marriage…but it’s not necessary or relevant to my current life plans.” Likewise, while another student, Keely, is possibly interested in getting married, she also wants to put her career first. “I like the idea and I want to be married one day, but not until I have a steady career on my own,” she says. In uncertain financial times, putting a career first might not be such a bad idea either.
Surprisingly, for many women it’s not the idea of getting married that is bothersome, but the wedding itself. Tori says, “Marriage itself is fine, but I hate weddings.” This was a common theme among women who mentioned that marriage was a “maybe” for them. Claire puts it best when she says,“I feel like, for me, having a huge wedding would be so in-the-spotlight, when for me, marriage seems so much more low-key.”
For the most part, millennial women respect the concept of marriage whether or not it’s for them. While having the big wedding is a hard-won victory for some in the LGBTQ+ community—Paige, a 20-year-old from outside of Emerson, says she is excited to have the option to marry her “forever love” now that it’s legal—for many women of all sexualities, they’d rather sit on the sidelines.
Joanne perhaps has the best mentality. While she notes that in the unlikely event she decides to get married she’d elope, she understands the, “significance [marriage] has evolved to have” and she respects that.
So what’s the takeaway? Millennials, just like every other generation, are a diverse group of people with varying opinions. Some love the idea of getting married young and having a “traditional wedding.” Others do not. At the core, however, most millennials can appreciate what’s at the heart of marriage: love.
Whether you are intending on getting hitched in the distant or not-so-distant future, or perhaps never at all, your decision is perfectly okay. In the meantime, sit back at your friends’ weddings and perhaps take on Anna’s mentality: “I’m only in it for the free stuff, cake and booze.”