Changing family patterns Flashcards
The ‘normal’ family…
50 years ago the ‘normal’ family was the ‘nuclear’ family – a married couple with children.
Since then changes to the family have meant that there are more different types of family today than ever before. We now have a variety of different types of family.
Key three areas of change…
Changes to marriage -
> Fewer people are getting married
> People are marrying later in life
> The divorce rate has gone up
Changes to partnerships -
> More couples are ‘co-habiting’
> There are more same sex couples and this is now legally recognised
> There are more people living alone
Changes to children and families -
> Women are having fewer or no children
> More births outside marriage
> More step families (as a result of divorce and re-marriage)
> More lone parent families
The changes in marriage…
Fewer people are getting married.
There are more re-marriages (where one partner has been married before – 4 out of 10 are re-marriage
People are waiting longer to get married – with the average age of males marrying females rising from 27.4 in 1972 to 38 by 2017, with the average age for females marrying males increasing from 24.7 to 35.7 in the same
There are fewer religious marriages in Church – They accounted for 24 percent of marriages in 2016.
6 key reasons for changes in marriage…
1) Changing attitudes - Less societal pressure
2) Secularisation - Decline in religion
3) Social norms (Cohabiting) - It’s no longer frowned upon to cohabit without marriage
4) Rising divorce - marriages last around 11yrs and almost 50% of marriages fail - this discourages people
5) Cost - The average costs of weddings in the UK is 17,000 pounds
6) People are marrying later - The average age for men to marry in 2017 was 38, while for women it was 35.7 among heterosexual couples.
Feminists views…
Feminists also argue that the traditional family in which the male dominates (patriarchy) is a major cause of conflict and another reason why more women seek divorce – to get away from male domination within marriage.
Other Feminist arguments:
1) Women who now work compare the way they are treated at work (valued) with the way they are treated at home under patriarchy (undervalued, housewives etc) and this breeds discontent which leads to divorce.
2) Working mother are more likely to divorce because they are expected to go out to work and also do the housework.
3) Many women are simply discounted with the patriarchal structure of the family and want out.
The New Right…
Some members of the New Right subscribe to the view that marriage, and therefore nuclear family life, is under attack and in decline.
The New Right approach can be seen as a more recent re-working of the earlier functionalist approach to the family.
The New Right argue that marriage is becoming less popular, as shown by the fact that marriage rates have declined in Britain.
Chester (1985)…
Chester (1985) argues that society is not witnessing a mass rejection of marriage, instead, he suggests, people are delaying marriage.
In other words, people are marrying later in life, probably after a period of cohabitation, for economic reasons. In 2005, seven in ten families were still headed by a married couple.
Postmodernists…
Post-modernist views on divorce
The post-modernist approach provides an alternative interpretation of divorce.
Beck and Beck-Gernsheim (1995) argue that rising divorce rates are the product of a rapidly changing world in which the traditional rules with regard to love, romance and relationships no longer apply. In particular, they point out that the post-modern world is characterised by individualisation, choice and conflict.
Individualisation, choice, and conflict…
Individualisation – people are under less pressure to conform to the traditional goals set by extended families, religions or cultures and have become more individualistic, selfish, etc.
Choice – cultural and economic changes mean that people have a greater range of choices available in terms of lifestyles and living arrangements.
Conflict – there is a potential clash between what people want as individuals (i.e. selfishness) and what they expect from others in a relationship like a marriage (i.e. selflessness).
Beck and Beck-Gernsheim argue that these three features have undermined relationships and marriages between men and women as demonstrated by rising divorce rates. However, this does not mean marriage is dying out. They point out that people still seek love and marriage because they believe that these compensate for the impersonal and uncertain nature of the modern world.
Scholars and evidence…
Fletcher sees higher divorce rates as evidence that marriage is increasingly valued. Couples are no longer prepared to put up with empty shell marriages. They want partners who can offer friendship, emotional fulfilment and sexual compatibility.
In the 1960s most divorce petitions were initiated by men. However, in the 1990s 75% of divorce petitions were taken out by women. Thornes and Collard’s (1979) survey of married couples discovered that women expect more from marriage than men and consequently tend to be less satisfied with their marriages.
Hart (1976) argues that many women experience a ‘dual burden’. They work, but are still primarily responsible for the bulk of housework and child-care. Failure by men to re-distribute power in the home may lead to divorce.
There has been a general liberalisation of attitudes in society. Divorce no longer carries stigma. Some sociologists such as Wilson (1988) see such change in social attitudes as due to secularisation, i.e. a general decline in religious practices and thinking. Even members of the Royal Family have experienced divorce.
Marriage, despite its popularity, receives little support from the State. Little public money is spent keeping marriages together, despite the emotional and economic costs of divorce.
Influences on women’s studies…
An important influence on women’s attitudes has probably been the improvement in women’s employment opportunities. In 1994 58% of the workforce was female. Women no longer have to stay unhappily married because they are not financially dependent upon their husband. However, the influence of this factor should not be exaggerated.
Women’s average earnings are still only 75% of men’s. Women’s economic independence is restricted because they are often employed in part-time and low-paid work.
Cohabitation…
The number of people cohabiting has doubled since 1986.
About ¼ of all unmarried adults cohabit – roughly 2 million couples.
Living together is no longer ‘stigmatised’ and socially unacceptable.eg by 200 62% of people in Britain regarded sex before marriage as not wrong.
Younger people accept cohabitation much more – 88% of 18-24 year olds think it is OK.
Many women now have careers and no longer need the security of marriage.
Secularisation means that although traditional religions frown on cohabitation their influence has declined.
Cohabitation as a step towards marriage…
Many people see cohabitation as simply a step towards marriage eg research by Ernestina Coast in 2006 showed that 75% of all cohabiting couples intended to marry eventually and saw cohabitation as a ‘trial marriage’.
Also – the decision to have children often propels cohabiting couples into marriage.
However – for some couple it as a permanent arrangement based more on equality and sharing than traditional marriage.
Same-sex couples…
Approximately 5-7% of adults have same sex relationships.
Social attitudes to same sex relationships have changed – it is much more acceptable.
The law has also changed to make same sex relationships more easy eg 1967 homosexuality was ‘de-criminalised’ since 2002 cohabiting gay couples have had the same rights as heterosexual couples and the Civil Partnerships Act of 2004 gave same sex couples the same rights as married couples in relation to property, inheritance, pensions etc.
This has led to many stable same sex relationships which are effectively marriages – relationships where both partners make a firm commitment over a long period of time. This has given rise to another new kind of family.
One-person households…
> The number of people living alone has risen - 10% of people (6.8 million).
This has trebled since 1961.
Half are pensioners.
Pensioner single person households have doubled since 1961 – but people younger living alone has tripled.
1) The rise in divorce has led to more people living alone (if they have children they will normally live with the mother leaving the father as a single household).
2) The fall in the numbers marrying – more remaining single. For many this is a lifestyle choice.
3) One partner dies – and as there are more older people there are more living alone – normally women.
4) About 10% of those living alone are actually in a relationship but not having moved in with their partner (LAT – ‘living apart together’). There may be various reasons – wanting to keep their own home, not wanting to commit etc.
