I’ve written many times about the many ways that marriage has gotten a bad reputation. Whether it’s stories about celebrities caught in cheating scandals, or watching the couples around them filing for divorce, many people are questioning just how desirable it is to be married. So forget about the bleak statistics for modern day marriage, today’s post will strictly take a light examine several of the negative terms that are used to describe various aspects of marriage.
Wedlock- Maybe it’s because it sounds so similar to headlock or maybe it’s just the inclusion of the word “lock” that makes this term sound so unappealing. Either way, it sounds likes something that is meant to trap you against your will, and does not conjure up happy images.
Tying the Knot- I’ve read varying accounts of how this expression came to refer to marriage and most have to do with stories about wedding ceremonies where the bride and groom would be tied together to symbolize being “bound together.” Most people don’t relish in the idea of marriage being the equivalent of a physical restriction. When people talk about “being tied down” by marriage, it is certainly not meant to express their happiness with marriage.
I did find one romantic legend regarding this term that tells a tale of sailors proposing be sending their sweetheart a length of rope and knowing that the proposal was accepted if the rope was return to them with a knot tied in it. Despite that sweet tale, knots are more often used to describe a situation that involves a tangle or a hindrance, rather than the more romantic notion of two things being intertwined as one.
Institution of Marriage- Most people don’t view the word “institution” in a very favorable way. School, prison and mental hospitals some of the most common places that are referred to as institutions, and we tend to view them as places that are mandatory under certain circumstances, not something that we would freely choose.
Marriage License- Yes, this little piece of paper makes it official that you are married in the eyes of the law. Many states have started to refer to this document as a marriage certificate, and that really isn’t surprising. There is something about a certificate that we associate with achievement, while there is something about obtaining a license that we associate with standing in long lines and perhaps taking a test. Obtaining any type of license is not usually something that we get all excited about.
Bridegroom- For centuries this was the official term for a man about to be married, but for the most part this term has been replaced with the word “groom.” This isn’t surprising, because bridegroom sounds eerily like a man has gone from being a man to being a strange hybrid that is part bride and part groom. Marriage is a merging in many ways, but most men don’t want to feel that they have gone from being a man to being part man and part woman.
So there you have some of the most common negative terms that are associated with marriage, courtesy of our own research and suggestion from our loyal Twitter followers. Marriage has changed in many ways since the days when women wore corsets and a proper gentleman didn’t go out in public without a hat. The terms that we associate with marriage could also use a little updating, especially when it comes to giving marriage a positive sound. It would nice to have more words that make marriage sound like something that should be celebrated rather than words that make it sound like a punishment.
What do you think? What are your thoughts about these terms? Any terms you’d like to add? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
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