Cohabitation Cohabitation And Relationship Decisions

Andrew Cordova Sonja Scullion English 122 8 May 2015 Shacking Up: Cohabitation and Relationship Decisions Cohabitation, or living in mortal sin as some would call it, has sparked much argument in the 21st century. Cohabitation is a family structure in which two people who are not married live together long-term while in a sexually intimate relationship. Until recently our laws, and our values have not been supportive of anything other than the traditional marriage between a man, and a woman; who did not live together/have sex before marriage. Cohabitation, like almost all forms of alternative relationship, has become more widely accepted in the past two decades, and new demographics now take into account cohabitation levels among both hetero and homosexual couples! Despite what has been a major deinstitutionalization of marriage, cohabitation remains stigmatized among many Americans. As a matter of fact cohabitation is still technically illegal in the states of Florida, Michigan, and Mississippi! You may be curious as to why knowing the ins and outs of cohabitation should even matter to you. According to German professor Steffen Reinhold of the University of Mannheim, studying cohabitation is crucial to the health of our society: Social scientists are interested in cohabitation and marriage because the reasons individuals enter and leave committedShow MoreRelatedThe Pros And Cons Of Cohabitation Before Marriage1563 Words   |  7 PagesThe Pros and Cons of Cohabitation before Marriage Introduction Social scientists have defined cohabitation as a situation where two adults, male and female live together in a relationship that is intimate and non-marital. The two make living arrangements without legal bounds to stay together before getting married. 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