离婚率上升并不是什么新鲜事了，但现在美国社会面对的是结婚率的下降。而且，结婚率下降并非代表钻石王老五多了。中高收入人群的结婚率高于工薪阶层，生活也更稳定。所以，结婚也成了一种特权么？
当结婚也成了一种特权
译者：王乐颖
校对：李林治
词汇：尹子梦
策划：朱雨晴
How Did Marriage Become a Mark of Privilege?
婚姻如何成了特权象征？
本文选自 The New York Times | 取经号原创翻译
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Marriage, which used to be the default way to form a family in the United States, regardless of income or education, has become yet another part of American life reserved for those who are most
privileged
.
过去，无论收入情况、教育背景如何，婚姻都是美国人组建家庭的默认方式。但现在，婚姻已经成为了美国
特权
阶级的又一生活专利。
privileged
/ˈprɪvəlɪdʒd/ adj. having advantages because of your wealth, social position etc 特权的
Fewer Americans are marrying over all, and whether they do so is more tied to
socioeconomic
status than ever before. In recent years, marriage has sharply declined among people without college degrees, while staying steady among college graduates with higher incomes.
总体来说，步入婚姻殿堂的美国人越来越少，结婚与否和
社会经济
条件之间的联结比以往都紧密。最近几年，无大学文凭人群的结婚率急剧下降，但收入较高的大学毕业生的结婚率则较为稳定。
Currently, 26 percent of poor adults, 39 percent of working-class adults and 56 percent of middle- and upper-class adults ages 18 to 55 are married, according to a research briefv published from two think tanks, the American Enterprise Institute and Opportunity America.
根据美国企业研究所和机遇美国这两家智库发布的研究简报显示，目前18到55岁的成年人中，26%的穷困阶层、39%的工薪阶层和56%的中高收入阶层已婚。
In 1990, more than half of adults were married, with much less difference based on class and education: 51 percent of poor adults, 57 percent of working-class adults and 65 percent of middle- and upper-class adults were married.
1990年，超过半数的成年人已婚，阶级、教育之间差别并不明显：穷困阶层、工薪阶层和中高收入阶层，在已婚人口中所占的比例分别是51%、57%和65%。
A big reason for the decline: Unemployed men are less likely to be seen as
marriage material
.
结婚率下降的一个重要原因是：没有工作的男性不太会被看作
适婚对象
。
“Women don’t want to take a risk on somebody who’s not going to be able to provide anything,” said Sharon Sassler, a sociologist at Cornell who published “Cohabitation Nation: Gender, Class, and the Remaking of Relationships” with Amanda Jayne Miller last month.
“女性不想在一个什么都不能提供的人身上冒险，”康奈尔大学社会学家雪伦· 萨斯勒如是说。萨斯勒上个月和阿曼达·杰恩·米勒共同出版《同居国度：性别、阶级和关系的重塑》。
As marriage has declined, though, childbearing has not, which means that more children are living in families without two parents and the resources they bring.
但是，出生率却没有随着结婚率的下降而下降，这就意味着有越来越多的孩子生活在没有双亲以及没有双亲提供资源的家庭里。
“The sharpest distinction in American family life is between people with a bachelor’s or not,” said Andrew Cherlin, a sociologist at Johns Hopkins and author of “Labor’s Love Lost: The Rise and Fall of the Working-Class Family in America.”
约翰霍普金斯大学社会学家、《劳动者缺失的爱：美国工薪阶层家庭兴衰史》作者安德鲁·切尔林说，“美国人家庭生活最明显的差别是，你是否有学士学位。”
Just over half of
adolescents
in poor and working-class homes live with both their biological parents, compared with 77 percent in middle- and upper-class homes, according to the research brief, by W. Bradford Wilcox and Wendy Wang of the Institute for Family Studies. Thirty-six percent of children born to a working-class mother are
born out of wedlock
, versus 13 percent of those born to middle- and upper-class mothers.
根据家庭研究所学者布拉德福德·威尔克斯和王温蒂撰写的研究简报，穷困和工薪阶层家庭中，和亲生父母共同生活的
青少年
刚刚超过一半，而在中高收入家庭中这一数字是77%。36%的工薪阶层母亲的孩子是
非婚生子
，在中高收入阶层的母亲中，这一数字是13%。
adolescent
/ˌædəˈlesənt/ n. a young person, usually between the ages of 12 and 18, who is developing into an adult 青少年
The research brief defined “working class” as adults with an adjusted family income between the 20th and 50th percentiles, with high school diplomas but not bachelor’s degrees. Poor is defined as those below the 20th percentile or without high school diplomas, and the middle and upper class as those above the 50th percentile or with college degrees.
研究简报将“工薪阶层”定义为家庭收入处于倒数20%-50%的人口，他们有高中文凭，但没有大学文凭。贫困阶层被定义为没有高中学位的、收入倒数20%以下的人口。中高收入阶层则是那些收入在一半人以上或有大学文凭的人。
Americans across the income spectrum still highly value marriage, sociologists have found. But while it used to be a marker of adulthood, now it is something more wait to do until the other pieces of adulthood are in place — especially financial stability. For people with less education and lower earnings, that might never happen.
社会学家发现，不同收入的美国人仍然高度重视婚姻。但婚姻过去被认为是成年的标志，现在却更像是可以延期，等待其他成年生活达标后的事，尤其是经济稳定方面。对于教育程度和收入都较低的人来说，他们可能永远不会结婚。
College graduates are more likely to plot their lives methodically —
vetting
people they date until they’re sure they want to move in with them, and using birth control to delay childbirth until their careers are
underway
.
大学毕业生可能更有条理地策划自己的生活——
考察
自己的约会对象，确定后再同居，采取避孕，事业稳定后再生孩子。
vet
/vet/ to check someone’s past activities, relationships etc in order to make sure that person is suitable for a particular job, especially an important one 审查
underway
/ˌʌndəˈweɪ/ adj. happening now 在进行中的
Less educated people are more likely to move in with boyfriends or girlfriends in a matter of months, and to get pregnant at a younger age and before marriage. This can make financial and family stability harder to achieve later on.
教育程度较低的人群更有可能在几个月内就和男女朋友同居，怀孕更早，或婚前就怀孕。这种情况可能会让经济和家庭稳定变得更加困难。
“It starts with moving in together quickly, for economic
exigency
reasons as opposed to relationship reasons,” Ms. Sassler said. “Then struggling with making ends meet and trying to manage this with a partner just elevates the challenges.”
“急急忙忙开始同居，是由于经济需要，而不是感情水到渠成，”萨斯勒女士说。“然后再艰难度日，多一个搭伙的只是增加了挑战。”
exigency
/ ˈeksəjənsē/ n. an urgent need or demand 紧急事件
Evidence shows that the struggles of men without college degrees in recent years have led to a decline in marriage. It has been particularly acute in regions where well-paying jobs in male-dominated fields have disappeared because of automation and trade.
证据显示，近年来没有大学文凭的男性的结婚率下降。在收入丰厚、男性为主的工作被自动化和贸易取代了的地区，这一情况尤为突出。
In a working paper published in July, three economists studied how the decline in manufacturing jobs from 1990 to 2014, across industries and regions, “contributed to the rapid, simultaneous decline of traditional household structures.”
在七月发表的一篇工作报告中，三位经济学家研究了1990年到2014年间不同产业和地区制造业工作的减少，是如何“同时让传统家庭结构急速减少的。”
Labor market changes made men less marriageable, they concluded. There were fewer available men, because unemployment was associated with a rise in incarceration or
mortality
from drugs and alcohol. The men who were left were less desirable, because they lacked income and were more likely to
drink to excess
or use drugs.
他们总结出，劳动市场的变化让男人不适合结婚。适婚的男性越来越少，因为失业与毒品及酒精导致的监禁、
死亡数
紧密相关。这些剩男不那么有吸引力，因为他们没有收入，更有可能
酗酒
或吸毒。
Researchers found a corresponding increase in births to unmarried mothers. The decline in marriage was not
offset
by more couples living together.
研究人员还发现未婚母亲产子的数量相应上升。结婚率下降并没有因为同居夫妇数量的增加而得以
弥补
。
offset
/ˈɒfset/ v. if the cost or amount of something offsets another cost or amount, the two things have an opposite effect so that the situation remains the same 抵消, 补偿
“A bad economy lowers the cost of having bad values — substance abuse, engaging in crime, not looking for a job right away,” said Gordon Hanson, an economist at the University of California, San Diego, who wrote the paper with David Autor of M.I.T. and David Dorn of the University of Zurich.
“糟糕的经济状况降低了拥有糟糕价值观——吸毒、犯罪、不立即找工作——的成本，”加州大学圣地亚哥分校经济学家戈登·汉森表示。汉森曾与麻省理工的大卫·奥特尔和慕尼黑大学的大卫·多恩共同写作本论文。
Never-married adults cite financial instability as a major reason for being single, especially those who are low-income or under 30, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Most men feel it’s important for a husband to be a financial provider, especially men without college degrees, according to another new Pew survey.
根据皮尤研究中心的一项新调查，没有婚史的成人，特别是低收入或是30岁以下的成人认为，经济不稳定是单身的一个主要原因。另一项皮尤的新调查显示，大部分男性，特别是没有大学学历的男性，认为丈夫提供经济来源是非常重要的。
Women, meanwhile, have learned from watching a generation of divorce that they need to be able to support themselves. And many working-class women aren’t interested in taking responsibility for a man without a job.
与此同时，女性在观察了一代人的离婚案例之后学到，她们要学会自力更生。许多工薪阶层的女性对养没有工作的男性不感兴趣。
“They say, ‘If he’s not offering money or assets, why make it legal?’ ” said June Carbone, a law professor at the University of Minnesota and the author with Naomi Cahn of “Marriage Markets: How Inequality Is Remaking the American Family.”
明尼苏达大学法律教授的琼·卡波恩说：“她们表示，’既然他不出钱也不出房，干要让这段关系具有法律意义？’”卡波恩与娜奥米·卡恩合著《婚姻市场：不平等如何重塑美国家庭》。
While researchers say it’s stability, not a marriage license, that matters for children, American couples who live together but don’t marry are generally less likely to stay
committed
.
虽然研究人员表示，对孩子们来说，重要的是稳定性，而不是结婚证；但同居却不结婚的美国伴侣普遍不太可能一直对彼此
忠诚
。
When thinking about how to make families more stable, researchers debate whether the decline in marriage is an economic issue or a cultural one. Those on the left usually say it’s economic — and could be reversed if there were more and better jobs for men without college degrees. Those on the right are more likely to say it’s because of a
deterioration
of cultural values.
在思考如何让家庭更稳定时，研究人员会争论，结婚率的下降到底是个经济问题还是文化问题。左翼人士常常表示这是个经济问题，如果没有大学学位的男性有了更多更好的工作，这一局势就能扭转。右翼人士则更倾向于认为这一状况是文化价值观
恶化
的结果。
In reality, economics and culture both play a role, and influence each other, social scientists say. When well-paying jobs became scarce for less educated men, they became less likely to marry. As a result, the culture changed: Marriage was no longer the norm, and out-of-wedlock childbirth was accepted. Even if jobs returned, an increase in marriage wouldn’t necessarily immediately follow.
社科学家表示，现实生活中经济和文化都起到了作用，并且相互影响。教育程度不高的男性不容易找到报酬丰厚的工作时，他们结婚的可能性就会大大降低。因此，文化也随之改变了：婚姻不再是常态，非婚生子也被人接受。即使工作机会增多，结婚率也不一定会马上上升。
Economists often downplay cultural factors, Mr. Hanson said. “We think about marriage in a laboratory setting, and ignore the role of churches and bowling leagues and community organizations,” he said. “When you have job decline in a big way, that fabric unravels. So even if you bring the jobs back, once the damage is done, it might take a while to repair.”
汉森先生表示，经济学家通常不重视文化因素。“我们在实验室环境下讨论婚姻，无视教会、保龄球联赛和社区组织的作用，”他说，“当工作数量大规模减少，事情的真相就会显现。即使重新创造出这些工作岗位，伤害已经无法挽回，回到从前也要花一定的时间。”
If economics and culture are linked, then policy ideas aimed at creating more stability for children would ideally address both.
