Why Marriage Works for Women
September 4, 2025
In 1928, sociologist W.I. Thomas maintained that “If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.” It is true that perceptions, no matter how false, have real life consequences. This is certainly true in the way the public perceives the marital status of women. For the most part, the media and the pop culture put a negative spin on how marriage impacts on the life of women. This perception, however, is not based on reality.
Four astute researchers have released an impressive study that contradicts the conventional wisdom. “In Pursuit: Marriage, Motherhood, and Women’s Well-Being” is the work of Janet Erickson, Jean Twenge, Brad Wilcox and Wendy Wang. Erickson is a Fellow at The Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University; Twenge is a professor of psychology at San Diego State University; Wilcox and Wang are sociologists affiliated with the Institute for Family Studies.
