In general, blacks and Hispanics are more likely to date or cohabit than they are to marry, although their expectations for marriage tend to be the same. Minorities tend to view cohabitation as more of a replacement for marriage than a precursor to it. This is largely due to the tendency of minorities to fall lower on the socioeconomic scale.
[...] Historically, however, marriage was much more about money. In exchange for protection, food, and shelter, a woman would clean a man's house and cook his food, and bear him sons to help him with the farm or family business. A person would generally marry inside their own socioeconomic class—odds are, they didn't really know anyone outside of it. Despite the new, romantic standards we've placed on the institution of marriage, money still dictates a lot of how our relationships function. [...]
[...] This leaves their wives to be both breadwinner and homemaker, since their husbands don't want to take another hit to their masculinity by doing “women's work” like childcare and cleaning. Cohabitation, too, is often a financial proposal. Although cohabitation is still largely a precursor to marriage, there is a growing trend in America and Western Europe of poorer people living together, regardless of their marriage intentions, in order to save money. Senior citizens nowadays often cohabit, not only for companionship, but to save money, partially because marriage might affect their earnings from pensions or social security. It's important [...]
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