What marriage means to a man?

Marriage is a relationship and commitment that means a variety of things to different people and different cultures.  When considering the meaning of marriage, people often separate how men view marriage from how women view marriage.  The meaning of marriage for men is different from man to man and culture to culture.  Also, the meaning of marriage to a man could differ depending on the man’s sexuality.  For example, marriage for a man that is bisexual might mean something different than the meaning of marriage to a man that is heterosexual.  So, as you think about the meaning of marriage for yourself, try to consider your influences and if you agree with those influences or not. 

Men tend to focus more on the physical qualities of marriage rather than the emotional qualities.  This is not always the case and is certainly changing in today’s society, but it tends to be true for a large percentage of men.  A man might be more likely to focus on the idea that there will be less flirting with other people once married.  On the contrary, a man might also focus more on the reality that being married gives them more frequent access to sex and physical touch possibly.  Some men might focus heavily on the idea of a partnership in life that marriage gives them access to.  For those men, they might see marriage as a box checked off on their life accomplishments list. 

An interesting part of some men when thinking about marriage is that they are trying to mimic their parent’s marriage and/or a specific parent in particular.  Some heterosexual men who had a good relationship with their mothers might mimic that relationship somewhat with their wives.  Some men who had a good relationship with their dads growing up might mimic who their dad was and take on those qualities for themselves.  It is important to check in with yourself and what messages you received about marriage in your formative years of life.  While it is not necessarily bad to try and mimic certain good qualities, it is also good to take on your own personal qualities in marriage.