According to Lamanna (2020), marriage is a legal or formal union between a woman and a man. People have made marriage more equitable. They have taken away the idea of traditional marriage and replaced it with peer marriage making marriage different from what it used to be. According to Sears et al. (2017), peer marriage is a type of marriage where partners share equal roles and chores. Peer marriage has clear features, such as division of labor, equal contribution to the household’s finances, and equal contribution to household decisions.
Peer marriage has various advantages. First, there is the primacy of the relationship whereby the partners prioritize their relationship (Lamanna, 2020), which makes each partner feel secure and supported. Secondly, there is intimacy in the relationships of people in peer marriages (Johnson et al., 2017). They share chores making them understand each other in a better way and have good communication. Thirdly, there is little or no opposition from people such as family members and friends, as all parties involved in the marriage feel involved and appreciated.
Peer marriage has some disadvantages. The type of marriage may lead to serious mental issues in case of divorce (Sears et al., 2017). It is because only one partner gets custody while the other stays away from the kids for quite some time, with occasional times together. Also, divorce from peer marriages may lead to financial obligations, whereby in case of a divorce one may have to pay a lot of money for alimony.
In conclusion, peer marriage is a good type of marriage since it brings union to a family. Furthermore, it reduces the burden on either partner because they collaborate in everything to make marriage lively. However, peer marriages can be challenging; particularly, during divorce cases.
References
Johnson, L. N., Miller, R. B., Bradford, A. B., & Anderson, S. R. (2017). The marriage and family therapy practice research network (MFT-PRN): Creating a more perfect union between practice and research. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 43(4), 561–572. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12238
Lamanna, M. (2020). Marriages, families, and relationships: Making choices in a diverse society. Cengage Learning.
Sears, J. S., Hall, M. T., Harris, L. M., Mount, S., Willauer, T., Posze, L., & Smead, E. (2017). “Like a marriage”: Partnering with peer mentors in child welfare. Children and Youth Services Review, 74, 80–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.01.023
