Friends With Benefits: Would You Marry Them?
A big social issue in recent years has been the legalization of same-gender marriage. People have made extreme implications that legalizing same-gender marriage somehow denotes the sanctity of the tradition, however, in some ways, this may actually be true. While weddings and marriages used to be a fairy tale of happily ever after, some have turned into nothing more than an official document. Should we marry friends with benefits?
No one has really been talking about what could be the most consequential result of these new laws. People are now able to marry their friends of the same gender, without the passion or love that is in a typical marriage. This may change the meaning of marriage for many people.
When same-gender marriage was legalized, the number of adults who could be a potential partner for another doubled. Any adult is able to partner up with anyone else and receive benefits outside of romance.
Legal marriage has many benefits and laws that privilege people who are legally bound to another person, many of which are economical, but there are others as well that enhance one’s sense of security.
If you have a trustworthy friend that is of your same gender or not, merging your lives through marriage can be beneficial to both parties. Once you are married, you can take advantage of your partner’s health insurance benefits, have lower car insurance premiums, receive a higher tax return by filing jointly and writing off expenses for each other.
In the case of the death of either party, the survivor is then entitled to the social security benefits of their spouse, and any inheritance that is left behind. Lifetime decisions like purchasing a home would also become simple, as you can file for a loan with a double income.
This makes marriage more of a business agreement than a relationship. There is no wedding or honeymoon, no need to be together all of the time, and certainly no need to be monogamous. However, there are some risks to this business partnership.
For example, marriage also attaches one person to another person’s debts and student loans, and any other financial hardships that may have been endured. For this reason, if marrying as a business decision, it should still be with someone whom you are able to fully trust.
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The interesting thing about this theory is that if people choose to marry for only practical reasons, marriage would lose its major components that celebrate the union of two people. Celebrations and weddings would be a thing of the past, as a business decision between two people does not call for a large dinner, dance, and ceremony.
The thought of marriage that results in the man making money while the woman stays at home with the children is dated. Women are now as successful than men and do not need a man’s paycheck to survive.
Women are also able to make their own decisions about whether or not to have children through the use of birth control, and through the use of in vitro fertilization. This all takes marriage as a factor out of the task of living a fulfilling life.
With things like children and economic security available without marriage, the sanctity of marriage in our society needs to be upheld in other ways. While the loss of potential benefits and legal protection that marriage brings may be left on the table if someone decides to stay single, so does the magical hype of spending your life with someone who you feel is meant to be your spiritual partner forever. However, isn’t this already lost in our society through the outpouring of wedding-related television shows and merchandise?
The business partner-type marriage is an option for people who are choosing to benefit only themselves. We need more core changes to benefit society overall. Everyone should have access to basic protections, whether or not their choose to marry. A partner should not be required to have social justice and equal protection.
The country needs to act as a team to create equality for everyone. Laws, social structures, and policies need to be changed in order to ensure all people are treated equally.
