Marriage is a fundamental yet dynamic institution within American culture, shaped by the relationship between larger historical processes and internal marital dynamics. There is no single story of marriage in America because this story is characterized by diversity, and the constant tension between prevailing ideals and actual experiences.

In the early twentieth century the so-called “companionate marriage,” characterized by emotional intimacy yet defined by highly structured roles for “husband” and “wife” was the prevailing cultural model. Following the Second World War, the institution of marriage in mainstream American life was greatly affected by the large numbers of American women who joined the workforce during the War to replace the thousands of men who had joined the military. Less economically privileged women had long been working outside of the home, of course (particularly in African American and immigrant communities), but until this time it had generally been viewed as a last resort rather than as a possibly desirable option. A more “egalitarian” model began to emerge, in which roles for “husband” and “wife” were less differentiated.

The 1950s, generally considered a socially conservative era, was actually a period during which increasing numbers of women in all communities began to work outside of the home. In the 1960s and 1970s this exploded into a radical shift with the women’s liberation movement; undercurrents of change have led many to predict the “end of marriage.” However, marriage continues to thrive, though these changes have entailed reconsideration of work issues, responsibilities, sexuality and legal ramifications from naming spouses and children to ownership of resources. Clinical counseling often focuses on maintaining and developing the marriage bond. At the same time, both divorce and remarriage have become more prevalent and acceptable.

For many, marriage represents the opportunity to express and reinforce a life-long commitment to a loved one. In contemporary America, the marital bond is often characterized by romantic love and emotional intimacy, although many marriages do not conform to this model. For some people, marriage constitutes a practical necessity for childrearing and economic survival. In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, such developments as blended families, gay relationships, single-parent families, multiple remarriages and new reproductive technologies have challenged rigid conceptions of married life, while often reaffirming the importance of its social and economic support.

Marriages in all forms (good and bad) have been the focus of television sitcoms and Hollywood products. In the former, companionate heterosexual forms dominated for decades, gradually giving way to broken and blended families as dramatic devices; soap operas have developed even more complex relations over decades. Hollywood, too, enshrined traditional models (despite intertexts of celebrity scandal), but has also explored issues of interracial, inter-class and gay unions as well as the breakdown of marriage and family.