There don't need to be any reasons given at all. All one has to do is simply say "irreconcile differences" and sign the dotted line and the marriage is over. I have seen my mother go thru 3 divorces, I know all about "irreconcile differences"...
That is legal talk, irreconcilable differences normally stands for a failed marriage but that does not mean that the actions of the men in that marriage did not cause the marriage to fail.
Men don't make the ultimate choice. Men generally try and fail.. For the VAST majority of men, their first choice of mate/partner rejects them. Men, naturally, want to find the most attractive partner they can attract, but many times, the person they are most attracted to is not attracted to them. And men do most if not almost all the initiating, so the selection of acceptable mates rests on the woman. More often then not, she gets her first choice, or really close to her first choice of mate. Where as men go thru a lot more rejection then women do. So women have the power in relationships. When men were the primary bread winners, and females needed men in order to provide them with security and a roof over their heads, the male/female dating "dance" was equlized by the fact that women had sexual power, and men had financial/security power. In today's dating world, men no longer hold this power due to the equal rights movement. Now there exists an inbalance as a result of there being no counterbalence to a womans sexual power. Women have not changed, they still expect men to do all the initiating and provide the majority of the income. It is know that women rarely marry men who make significantly less, where as men marry all the way up and down the socioeconomic scale. Women are still being choosey, still expecting the traditional dating methods and are still using their sexual power to choose the best mate for them.
They have the power to accept a man's advances, that is not the same as the power in relationships. Men have the power to quit relationships whenever they want. There lack of balance in a wedding has nothing to do with men providing and women having the power to put out if they want too. There are a whole load of reasons why marriages have a lack of balance, sex is only a small part of that IMHO.
Women do not think with their reproductive organs, that is the way men operate a lot of the time. A woman chooses a male because she is attracted to him/loves him, few women would choose a man on the basis of how good he is in the sack.
I don't think it started slower, I think it just started differently. In the US, the feminist/equal rights movement has quickly turned into a political/activist movement where as in most european/asian countries it has been more tame and less rhetorical. It has been agreed upon by all and the majority choose to enact laws, vs in the states it has been mostly women who have voted their own laws into place. Men have simply been trying to weather the storm sort to speak because any man that has ever tried standing up against the feminist movement to say "hey, thats not fair" has been steamrolled by feminists and their enablers (mostly testicleless men who put all women on a pedestal hoping it will get them somewhere) But that is changing quickly in places like Canada (where it is probably the worst) and also in places in North-eastern Europe.
The whole problem in the US is that political power is very male dominated and political voting power is slowly transferred into real change. With the whole structure of US politics it is very difficult for women to get into politics and for change to take place. In most European countries it is easier for women to elect politicians that care and promote womens rights.
And women in Europe were also activist up to a point to get equal rights. In the US it is more conservative politicians who want to keep the good old times in place and women have to use political activism to get equal rights through the courts because the political reality in the US means that getting equal rights through the political process is next to impossible (in a timely fashion).
Women do most of the housework because they still demand a man that makes more money then they do. And to make more money then they do, a man must work more hours or take jobs further away from the home. As I said above, women have not changed their traditional wants in men. Where as men have changed drastically over the last 4-5 decades. And as I mentioned above, the law here in the US protects women a lot more then men when it comes to relationships, sex and divorce. Men have virtually no defense against a woman who wishes to end a relationship on false pretenses or wishes to destroy a mans life.
Sorry, but even in households were men and women both work full time jobs, it is still the woman who has to do the bulk of household and child rearing jobs. Men still think they have the rights to "free time", "time with the guys" and "chill out time" even when the work in the house still has to be done.
And when the marriage breaks up it is still the husband who has to provide money to the wife in order for her to care for his (and her) children. And that is mostly because in the US there is no financial safety net which women get part of the money from until the child is old enough to go to school full time (at which time the woman is to start working close to full time).
In the Netherlands men have to pay considerably less most of the time than in the US. In the US this leads to unfair judgments towards the men. Maybe it is time for US law to order women to start working as soon as the children are old enough to be in school full time. If the women are not trained enough the US states might provide loans in order for her to start learning a trade so that she can stop draining her husbands pocketbook.
Men are able to negotiate with their wives prior to getting married.... a little... But in my expirience, and listening to my friends, the vast majority of them are afraid of their wives because they realize what their wives can do to them if they become even the least bit dissatisfied with the realationship. In today's dating environment, there is always a "john" hanging around in the background waiting for the relationship to break up so he can move in. Where as men, when they divorce, rarely have anyone to move on with. So it is generally much easier for a woman to break off a marriage then it is a for a man.
The problem then is that these are not healthy and balanced relationships which were achieved through negotiations and voicing expectations about what they would like to achieve in the marriage. And after the marriage has taken place it is even more important to negotiate and communicate to keep the marriage healthy. And I am sorry? A "John" hanging around in the background? How about the "Susan's" hanging around to seduce men? That accusation can be reasoned for both sexes. The whole problem there is that most women start having affairs because they are not satisfied in their marriage and they are looking for love and closeness, men do not need such reasons, usually they will do it just for sex.
And the reasons that it is much easier for women to break off the marriage is not the whole story, women usually see break ups as the last resort. Men don't want to divorce as long as they still have their sex, still have their laundry done and food on the table.
Dr. Phil is a sellout douche!
That is your opinion, he usually has a lot of fair points to make.