Marriage has taken a drastic turn in recent years; there have been new laws, regulations and new marriages all together in these years. Race, gender, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and class all play a role in the cycle of marriage. With new changes occurring within marriages, these new developments have come under scrutiny more when a couple gets married. After reading this essay you can perhaps learn new facts and gain more knowledge about the new revolution that marriage has brought. In the early aughts, marriage most commonly occurred between people of the same race and ethnicity; it was unusual when marriage occurred between different races. Such marriages caused controversy and were not as accepted as those that occurred between the same races. “Marriages between African Americans and whites increased rapidly between 1980 and 2008, outpacing the rate of unions between whites and other racial and ethnic groups, including Latinos, Asian Americans, and American Indians” (Qian). When such marriages were performed, people would wonder why their parents allowed this to happen. However, there has been a decline in marriages. What is causing such a decline? Well, for one thing, there are a few reasons for this decline; “this decline is a central feature of recent levels of divorce, non-marital motherhood and cohabitation” (Bumpass): many couples no longer marry, start a family but do not officially marry. It has become increasingly common since the 1980s, and especially in the 21st century. 21st century weddings are simply different than those of the 1980s; now there's more to consider when one gets married... mid-paper... because they both work, splitting bills is an option. Women look for more than money in men. Surprisingly enough, “in 1960, 72% of all adults age 18 and older were married, today only 51% are (Cohn, et. Al). Almost 21% do not get married, many simply move in together and start a family without getting married. In 2013, these marriages began to change not only in the number of those who did not marry, but because same-sex marriages began to occur. Everything that happens within a marriage is influenced by race, class, ethnicity, and who is older than one year. Marriage has taken drastic turns year after year and will most likely continue to change as time goes by. New laws will be passed, and since your partner's outlook is no longer the same as it was in the 1980s, the percentage of married couples will decline.