In today’s lectorial, we looked at the term institution and how they act in organising structures in society. We did an exercise of looking at marriage as a social institution and the symbolic, social, economic, legal and cultural that come along with it. One good point that was made was the fact that we have been ‘socialised to aspire to marry’, discussing the idea that we as a society believe marriage is a must in order for a relationship to progress. Personally, I believe that marriage is very subjective and as a society we should be more open to interpretations of that. I know many couples that have been together for a long time and had kids, who are happier within their relationship then some of the married couples I know. For some reason, our society thinks that marriage is just the answer for every relationship and it is difficult not to get swept up in the whole marriage propaganda as everywhere you look there are wedding cakes for sale, bridal hair and makeup pictures, wedding gifts and cards, honeymoon packages and bridal gown fashion shows.