ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by asking whether everything about the dating process in America has been getting earlier and more casual. There are additional criticisms of our dating culture that approach the matter from other angles. Critics pose a number of reasons for doubting that dating variety and intimacy help individuals to make a wise choice of an eventual spouse, as assumed by the “marketplace learning” scenario. The number of individuals the average woman goes steady with before marriage has also increased somewhat in recent cohorts. So cohabitation prior to marriage is now approaching becoming a majority phenomenon in the complex urban area that Detroit represents. When this sort of argument is pursued to its limits, premarital sex, cohabitation, and even sex with other potential marital prospects, can be seen not only as acceptable, but even as valuable preparation for a successful marriage.
