Would you give up family tradition to marry the one you love?
PRINCESS Mako, the 25-year-old granddaughter of the emperor of Japan, is planning to marry a commoner — a highly controversial move that highlights just how much a person will give up for love. The upcoming marriage of Emperor Akihito’s granddaughter to her college sweetheart, a tourism promoter, will cost the princess her royal status in a move that highlights the male-dominated nature of Japan’s monarchy as it faces a potential succession crisis. Like all female imperial family members, Mako will lose her royal status upon marriage to a commoner under Japan’s imperial law.
Love has a tendency to make people do things they never thought they would do, even sometimes causing friends and family members much dismay. Whether it is that you’re openly in love with someone outside your race, social class, religion or otherwise, oftentimes this choice means going against tradition and long-held expectations of your family and friends. Would you go against the wishes of your family and friends — against tradition — to marry the love of your life?
Danielle, 23:
My ex-boyfriend wasn’t a Christian and I am from a Christian home. That’s a huge issue in my family. They would talk about being ‘unequally yoked’ and all of that. Despite their beliefs, I still had a relationship with him and I enjoyed it. I was happy. And if it had come down to marriage at that time, I would have married him.
Chelsea, 24:
Yeah, I think I would. I would do it all in the name of love.
Mikhail, 24:
Of course! It’s not all the time you should be bound by your traditions, you must explore. Family doesn’t make my decision for who I am supposed to marry. Tradition doesn’t either.
Racquel, 30:
I’m from a Christian home, so there are certain expectations my parents have. But I am the one who will spend the rest of my life with him. So if he meets my requirements, I would marry him.
Serena, 27:
My family believes that women should get married to rich men. If they aren’t rich, then they must be earning no less than a certain amount per year. But money isn’t all. If we are happy and he has a good career with a steady income, yes, I would marry him. I don’t need a rich man. Plus there are older females in my family with this opinion who are still unmarried.
Cavelle, 42:
Not that my family is super traditional, but eyebrows were raised when I chose to marry a man many years my junior. They believed that he was in it for my money. If it was the opposite it wouldn’t have been a problem, but for them, the woman should not be older than the man. Thank God I had enough sense to rebuff that.
Donna, 30:
My friends expected me to date men in my social group — master’s degree or higher, certainly not lower than that. But my fiancé didn’t even finish high school, and we are intent on making it work, even though everyone believes it’s a bad match because we’re unequal educationally.
