A tree and the fruit it bares...

Everything about our identities is connected, directly or indirectly, to our parents. From our taste in music to our preferences in foreign versus domestic cars, our parent’s choices serve as a blueprint for the lives that we eventually build for ourselves. Whether we decide to emulate or deviate from their choices is likely to be contingent on the observed benefit of their decisions in comparison with the cost of deciding to act differently. Nevertheless, intergenerational correlations across various actions are large and consistent because the earliest cues of personal development learned from parents become the framework of every decision that any child will ever make.

Intergenerational correlations are most prevalent when observing wealth outcomes between parents and their children. Though various factors such as exposure to quality education, access to wealth, race and ethnicity account for much of this correlation, an interesting element to consider is the similarity in economic status of one’s marital partner to that of his or her parents. In the previous class, we discussed the prevalence of this occurrence and discovered that contrary to popular belief; the fallacy of a “Pretty Woman” [who is poor] marrying a rich man does not exist because trends show that rich men marry rich women, and poor women marry poor men. The persuasiveness of the evidence reviewed in class left me to wonder whether these tendencies were a result of individuals sharing the same social sphere or whether they proved that people marry mates of the same “pedigree” as themselves. Even more interesting is under what circumstances do individuals deviate from their own [relative] status quo and marry someone below their socioeconomic class?

Part of the challenge in understanding whether marriage choices are more dependent on social spheres or preferences is that the notion of “elitism” remains a faux pas in this country. Therefore, individuals who “seek out” mates of similar class status have an incentive to misrepresent their true preferences. Regardless of the stigma of this practice, it remains a practical tool in dating and ultimately choosing a mate for individuals across the class spectrum. Though many may debate the social appropriateness of this practice, most understand the inevitability of people to choose their companions in this manner. Rather than viewing the debate over “salad fork vs. barbeque” as two disparate trends, it is possible to view them as interconnected worldviews on socialization. For example, many reasonably argue that women do not necessarily disregard men of lower social status from their dating pool; instead, they only consider men with like experiences, interests, and goals. These attributes, most would argue, correlate heavily with education which subsequently correlates with income or economic status.

As mentioned earlier, considering the high propensity of both women and men to marry within their socioeconomic class, understanding the circumstances that induce deviation from this norm may provide compelling insight for further study. Various explanations could be applicable when considering race as a factor, such as the disproportionate amount of Black women versus Black men in the middle and upper middle class categories. The disproportionate effect may reasonably account for Black women’s higher inclination to marry men with a lower socioeconomic status than themselves. However, for white men or women who choose to marry someone who is not of the same pedigree, the reasons are less clear.

Choosing a lifetime companion is a very personal and intimate decision that most will face during the course of their life. In that light, if individuals decide to marry within or outside of their social class that decision should be above scrutiny. To the extent that further inquiry goes into this field other than for the purpose of explaining the prevalence of this trend is worrisome. Even if these trends disprove Americans notions of love having no boundaries, one must question whether we can remedy this phenomenon and more importantly, should we?