Since last two decades, a great change in gender roles in relationships have been witnessed. In today’s world, there are many traditions in relationships that are widely different from what our previous generations had experienced and followed. Online dating, cohabiting before marriage, waiting longer to get married, and money before marriage are just a few of the many ways that relationships are evolving.
There are many types of traditional relationships but the basic traditional relationship involves a man and woman with the male typically being the more dominant partner while the woman is more submissive.
In this context, submissive does not mean worthless or voiceless, but the woman will follow the man’s lead and play a more supporting role in the relationship. She is the backbone of her husband.
The traditional relationship also has more clearly defined roles for the couple. For example the man could be the sole provider or primary breadwinner. The man would also take care of home repairs, trash, and vehicle maintenance.
For the woman, she would take care of the cooking, the cleaning, and be the primary caretaker of any children. Although this type of relationship may seem antiquated and would not work for some, it works for many, and the relationships do tend to last longer.
Modern relationships make their own rules. They break free of the stereotypical roles of relationships and marriage, and define their own coupledom. Just like the traditional relationships, there are many types of modern relationships.
A modern relationship may be like a married couple who both are engaged in work and share chores, taking turns as needed. A common modern couple is two working parents, who make decisions together, and share chores and responsibilities.
The roles are less clearly defined and each are expected to work together to get household chores done and the children taken care of equally.
In a modern relationship, the woman may be the breadwinner, and the man may play a more supporting role. While modern relationships offer equality to both partners, the undefined roles may result in frustrations and resentment as one half of the couple feels like the other is not pulling their weight.
As per various studies, it has been seen that the modern relationships does not last long compared to the traditional relationships. The reason could be many, but of course it is not because of the lack of morale or discipline or shortage of love.
And being married for a very long time does not always mean a happy marriage.
People stay in relationships for many reason, and love isn’t actually at the top of the list.
So you can’t really judge a relationship based on the longevity of the marriage.
The best form of relationship cannot be known. It truly depends on the couple.