BURLINGTON, VT—Relationship researchers at the University of Vermont have moved to categorize marriage as a fetish, considering its move to the fringes of society.
Marriage, or the act of two people committing to each other in emotion, purpose, and sexual fidelity, has become an increasingly rarer phenomenon among millennials, and has largely fallen out of favor in popular media and among celebrities in recent years. Additionally, its purpose of enhancing the experience of being together with a romantic interest has led several relationship experts to begin to rethink what place it has in the modern world.
Lead researcher, Quinn Tucker, 60, says that "Marriage is a pretty odd phenomenon if you really sit down to think about it. I mean, some couples plan their entire relationship around it, and won't even date another person unless they know that lifetime commitment is a possibility. There are costumes and foods we associate just with weddings. It's a lot like a long, drawn out role play in some ways. In fact, in our research, a lot of people said that one of the most satisfying surges of oxytocin they've ever had was when they decided with their partner to fully commit to each other. By definition, it's a ritualistic behavior intended to enhance pleasure, so I think it basically is a fetish."
Tucker has also experimented with marriage in two separate phases in her life, and said that, although it was fun for a while, it ultimately took on a life of its own and kept her from doing things that she wanted to, like dating other people.
"Some people never really seem to recover from this affliction, and so we think that calling marriage what it is will help to create resources for people who don't want commitment, prefer temporary romances, and who are nervous about getting involved in unfamiliar territory of having partners expect things from them," said Tucker.
How this move may affect the underground wedding industry is unclear, but Tucker suggests that some people have such a raw, carnal desire to get involved in marriage, that the phenomenon is not likely to go away any time soon. "My hope is not to eradicate marriage, but just to make sure it's done between consenting adults, and that they understand the risks."
Comments