Is there any benefit to men from marriage (to a woman)?

[renard_ruse]

Should men get married?

I don't see any benefit to men from marriage today. Marriage provides no legal rights to men, only responsibilities and financial burdens. Here's another example:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/enterta...is-850-million-fortune-to-ex-wife-in-divorce/

There is no legal expectation of regular sexual relations in a marriage (courts have held that there is legal expectation of sex once in a marriage, to "consummate" it, but no further expectation of sexual activity is legally recognized). Marriage provides a man with no legally recognized interest in reproductive decision making, in fact, he has no legal right to even be informed of reproductive decision making (this is solely confered to the woman, even if she is married). In a divorce, the woman is still far more likely to gain custody of all the children, even if the father is a qualified and suitable parent, and while her being a bitch and refusing sex during the marriage is not considered during settlement procedings, if he "cheats" on her it is taken into account. Finally, even though its the 21st century, there is still the ridiculous concept of alimony that many men still get stuck with.

All in all, men get zero legal advantage from marriage, but face a huge financial risk particularly if they outearn their wife. So, why would they do it? It may seem like the romantic thing to do at the time, but think it through seriously first guys. That's all I can say.

 

[1sickbastard]

Married men have an longer lifespan, on average.

Other than that, no.

 

[hotdamnazgirl]

If all you expect out of marriage is sex and financial assets then marriage is not likely a good idea for you. However, if you are looking for emotional connection, the comforts of having a partner in life who will meet challenges with you and support you while you support them, than I actually can’t think of any better situation to find that than in a healthy and happy marriage (though marriage is definitely not a guarantee for that). Making a formal commitment to live your life with a person (which is what marriage is), sharing in the ups and downs of the human existence, has the potential of adding a more permanent insulating layer of emotional support and connectedness that provides a greater sense of meaning to life. But if the emotional aspects of that kind of commitment are not meaningful to you personally, then marriage as a contract is not going to be meaningful to you.

While this is purely my opinion, being part of a happy marriage is better than being happily single. Being happily single is better than being in an unhappy marriage. Being unhappily single is better than being unhappily married since at least you have a shot of finding happiness somewhere. The unfortunate challenge in achieving the best situation of being happily married is complicated by the humanness of the two people who make up the marriage. It is the attitudes of selfishness, greed, pride, and lack of empathy which are common to all people to some extent which clash with the goal of being able to develop and maintain a positive fulfilling relationship with another person. If each person in the relationship does not purposefully choose to challenge these attitudes in themselves and make changes to themselves (since really all you have control over is yourself) than no relationship will produce long-term sustainable happiness. In addition, if two people do not make an effort to grow and develop together, partners grow apart and the distance defeats their ability to maintain a satisfying emotional connection. But each person has to be willing to work at it, once one stops making effort than the relationship is in jeopardy.

As for sex, some married couples enjoy extremely satisfying sexual relationships throughout their entire marriage (and I would appreciate it if they would share how they did that with the rest of us). However, it is the rare couple that doesn’t encounter times when their sexual appetite is not in sync. All long term sexual relationships also have the challenge of avoiding complacency and the proverbial rut; however, with effort and purposeful action on both people’s part it is possible to maintain high levels of sexual gratification for both people. In addition, I cannot say enough about how a deep emotional bond and sense of trust between two people amplifies the possibilities having mind blowing sex (at least for me). In a happy marriage, both emotional bonds and trust would be there.

So those are my 2 cents . . . There were a couple of websites which addressed the legal and financial benefits of marriage which I posted below. I personally don’t value marriage as a legal and financial arrangement, though it most definitely is both, I value it for the emotional aspects.

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/marriage-rights-benefits-30190.html

http://divorcesupport.about.com/od/reasonstostaytogether/f/marriagebenefit.htm