Assignment 6

1. One example of the ancient marriages described by the author is that of Native American groups, they were more concerned about the "diversity of gender" rather than the "diversity of sex". Therefore, Native American couples had to have one person to fulfill the "man's work" while the other person was responsible for the "woman's work". This example of ancient marriage differs from the "one man, one woman idea" because there was not a focus put on the sex of the couple; it was more important that gender roles were equally distributed in the partnership, regardless of their sex.

2. The two groups that are most likely postponing marriage are the middle class and the poor class. Their main reasons for postponing is due to the fact that they would like to feel settled and have financial security in order to take the next step, which for many is having children. Specifically, the poor don't wish to rely on other since this is a false sense of security; the middle case postpones because they often have goals of finish college, receiving a degree and a steady job in their career field.

Wedding traditions from clip:

• white wedding dress 
• groom in a black tuxedo 
• bridesmaids and a maid of honor 
• groomsmen and a best man 
• flowers and candles
• ring exchange 
• kissing the bride 
• bride wears a veil 
• groom is not allowed to see the dress before the wedding ceremony 
• since it is a Jewish wedding the men wear yamakas 
• stomping of glass 
• drinking wine and toasting the married couple
• wedding took place at a church/temple 

I decided to research the tradition of the ring exchange, and the order that wedding and engagement ring are to appear on ones finger. Many believe that engagement ring must be closest to the hand with the wedding ring on top. This is the tradition because the ring on top is said to protect the engagement ring as well as being symbolic of marriage being the bigger commitment. However another source declares that the wedding band should be closest to your "heart" with the engagement ring on top so it is easy to remove to possibly clean the diamond. Furthermore during the ceremony the husband should place the wedding band on the wife's left ring finger. I would follow the tradition of having my wedding band first and my engagement ring on top of that, I would also follow the left hand ring finger tradition.