changing family patterns Flashcards
Cohabitation
Involves an unmarried couple in a sexual relationship living together. There are 2.9 million cohabiting heterosexual couples in Britain
Reasons for increase in cohabitation
- increased rates are a result of the decline in stigma attached to sex outside marriage. In 1989, only 44% of people agreed that ‘premarital sex is not wrong at all’ but 65% took this view by 2012- the young are more likely to accept cohabitation - increased career opportunities for women may mean they have less need for the financial security of marriage and are freer to opt for cohabitation - secularisation - young people with no religion are more likely to cohabit than those with a religion
A trial marriage
Many see cohabitation as a trial marriage and intend to marry if it goes well. Most cohabiting couple decide to marry if they have children. In some cases cohabitation is a temporary phrase before marriage because one of both partners are waiting for a divorce - other couple may see it as an alternative to marriage
Andre Bejin
Argues that cohabitation among some young people represents a conscious attempt to create a more personally negotiated and equal relationship than conventional patriarchal marriage
Same sex relationships
STONEWALL, the campaign for lesbian gay and bisexual rights, estimates about 5 to 7% of adult population today have same sex relationships. It’s impossible to judge whether this represents an increase because in the past, stigma and illegality meant that such relationships were more likely to be hidden - there is evident of increased social acceptance of same sex relationships in recent years. Male homosexual acts were decriminalised in 1967 for consenting adults over 21 but now it can been equalised with heterosexuals
Social policy now treats all couples more equally…
Eg since 2002 cohabiting couples have had the same right to adopt as married couples. In 2004, the civil partnership act gave same sex couples similar legal rights to married couples in respect of pensions, inheritance, tenancies and property. Since 2014, same sex couples have been able to marry
One person households
- big rise in number of people living alone. In 2013 almost 3 in 10 households contained only 1 person - 40% of all one person households are over 65. Pensioner one person households have doubled since 1967, while those of non pensioners tripled. Men under 65 were most likely to live alone - by 2033 over 30% of all the adult population will be single
‘Living apart together’ LATs
There are about 1 in 10 adults LAT - in a significant relationship but not married or cohabiting. This is about half of all the people officially classified as single. It has been suggested that this may reflect a trend towards lass formalised relationships and ‘families of choice’
Duncan and Phillips
Found that both choice and constraint play a part in whether couples live together. A minority actively chose to live apart eg because they wanted to keep their own home, because of a previous troubled relationship or it was ‘too early’ to cohabit - conclude while being a LAT is no longer seen as abnormal, it doesn’t amount to a rejection of more traditional relationships
Public attitudes to LATs
Favourable - a majority believe that a couple do not need to live together to have a strong relationship, while 20% see LATs as their ‘ideal relationship’
Explaining the increase in divorce - changes in the law made it easier and cheaper to file for a divorce. It wasn’t until the 20th century that divorce became easy to obtain
- the 1923 matrimonial causes act gave both men and women equal rights for divorce enabling ether spouse to get a divorcee on the basis of matrimonial offence (eg adultery)- the 1969 divorce reform act brought about the biggest change as it became easier for couples to escape an unhappy marriage as neither had to provide ‘fault’ with each other allowing them to divorce after separation for 2 years - the 1984 matrimonial and family proceedings act made divorce possible after 1 year
Changes in the law cont.
They have also made it legally and financially easier to obtain a divorce, so many empty shell marriages that had been formally maintained were terminated. Critics argue that legislative changes are regarded as an enabling factor in explaining divorce rather than a causative factor
Explaining the increase in divorce - declining stigma
Less stigma (negative labelling and disapproval) from others towards those who are divorced. Divorce is now socially more acceptable and often seen as the ‘norm’ in modern society. The regularity of divorce and the publicity given to divorce in high places has helped normalise it
Explaining the increase in divorce -secularisation
Britain has arguably become a more secular society resulting in marriage becoming less sacred and less of a spiritual which and more of a practical commitment that can be abandoned easily - less than half of all weddings take place in a religious building and a new law in the 1990s reinforced this trend (marriage ceremonies can now take place in a wide range of venues)
Explaining the increase in divorce - rising expectations of marriage
Status of women has improved, more women work and are financially independent and many are no longer reliant on men for financial security. Functionalists argue that the increased distance of the nuclear family from the extended family means that it’s not east for partners to seek advice or temporary refuge with relatives when there is marital conflict
