Changing Patterns Of Divorce, Marriage, Cohabitation, Separation, Partnerships & Childbearing Flashcards
divorce
marrage breakdown 1- divorce
Divorce refers to the legal termination of marriage. 1969 Divorce Law Reform Act meant that for the first time marriage could be ended on the terms of ‘irretrievable breakdown’ without a marital offence being committed by either husband or wife. Since 1984 couples have been able to petition for divorce after the first year of marriage.
divorce
marriage breakdown 2- seperation
Separation is when couples agree to live apart after the breakdown of marriage, however they remain legally married. In the past this was sometimes the only solution to the breakdown of marriage as divorce was often too expensive or difficult to obtain.
divorce
marriage breakdown 3- empty shell marriages
where a husband and wife stay together in name only, there is no love or intimacy left between them. Many couples stay in this sort of relationship as a matter of respect. Although such marriages are likely to end in separation or divorce many couples are forced to live together.
divorce
why are divorce statistics not so reliable
Divorce statistics must be treated with caution and we should never take them at face value. If not it is possible to make misleading conclusions about the declining importance of marriage and the family, such as it is declining, when we know currently 65% of all families in the UK are married couples. Divorce statistics only actually tell us the amount of marriages which are legally terminated each year. They do not tell us:
*The amount of couples that are separated but still married
*The amount of unhappy or unstable marriages that existed before divorce was easier and more affordable
divorce
divorce reform act 1969
marrage seen as an irreversable breakdown
divorce
family law act 1996
Increased amount of time before a divorce could be granted to eighteen months, introduced compulsory marriage counselling for a ‘period of reflection’ and required children’s wishes and financial arrangement for children to be agreed before a divorce was granted.
divorce
matrimonial and family proceedings 1984
can divorce after only one year
divorce
2019 new divorce dissolution and seperation law
removed partners having to blame eachother
divorce- explanations for reasons for divorce
changes in law
Changes in the law in the last century have made it much easier and cheaper to get divorced. They have also given men and women equal rights in divorce. The changes in the law very much reflect the changes in social attitudes and norms on marriage and divorce.
In 1971 divorces could be granted based on ‘irretrievable breakdown’ (which means no marital offence needed to have been committed), this resulted in the divorce rate almost doubling.
divorce- explanations for increases in law
decline in stigma and social attitudes
Divorce is no longer seen as a shameful thing to do. It’s much more accepted.
Giddens argues this is a consequence of people pursuing individual choices, as opposed to feeling confined by social attitudes.
divorce- explanations for increasing divorce
secularisation
Secularisation refers to the declining influence of religious beliefs. This has resulted in traditional religious beliefs about divorce being a sin have less impact on society. This is reflected in the church’s softening attitudes towards divorce and divorcees.
divorce- explanations for increased divorce
rising expectations of marriage
Functionalists such as Fletcher argue that the higher expectations people place on marriage today are a major cause of rising divorce rates. Higher expectations make couples less willing to tolerate an unhappy marriage. The functionalist approach therefore argues that the higher divorce rates actually reflect a better quality of those marriages which remain married. The higher expectations of marriage are also reflected in the higher re-marriage rates amongst divorced couples.
divorce-explanations for increasing divorce
changes in the position of women
This is a very important reason for the rising divorce rate. Around two thirds of divorce petitions are initiated by women. One of the reasons could be the improvement in women’s economic conditions means they no longer need to rely on a husband.
Another reason could be the availability of the welfare benefits. Feminists argue that women’s expectations of life and the quality of their relationships have risen during the course of the last century
divorce- theories view on divorce
functionalists, fletcher
Fletcher argue that the high divorce rate is because people now demand more of marriage and does not signify that marriage as a social institution is under threat. They argue that people are more likely to end a marriage now that may have been acceptable in the past. Therefore Fletcher argues that the higher divorce rates may not indicate a decline in the value of marriage but higher standards people have of marriage.
divorce- theories view on divorce
new right
New Right sociologists argue that divorce statistics support their belief that there is a serious crisis in the family. According to them the high divorce rates undermine the traditional nuclear family. They believe that divorce is too easy as a result people are not as committed to marriage and the family as they once were.
divorce- theories view on divorce
liberal femenists
argue that the rise in divorce rates highlights the rise in opportunities women now have. Women no longer have to be reliant upon a husband. They are earning their own money and have their own careers. This all means that their priorities have now changed and marriage and children are not as important as they once were. Feminists argue that married women today suffer a dual burden; they are required to take on paid work in addition to performing domestic labour (housework and childcare). Feminists believe this has created a new source of conflict between husbands and wives, and is contributing to the higher divorce rate. While there has been huge improvements for women in the public sphere, Feminists argue that in the private sphere of the family and personal relationships change has been limited and slow. Many Feminists argue that marriage remains patriarchal, with men benefiting from their wives ‘triple shift’ of paid work, domestic work and emotion work.
The feminist Hochschild (1997) argues that for many women, the home continues to compare unfavourably with work. At work, women feel valued, whereas at home men’s continuing resistance to doing housework is a source of frustration and makes marriage less stable. Women end up doing huge amounts of emotion work. Therefore women’s independence from traditional marriage is a positive thing.
divorce- theories view on divorce
interactionists
aim to understand what divorce means to the individuals. Morgan (1996) argues that we cannot generalise the meaning of divorce because every individual interpretation of it is different.
divorce- theories view on divorce
postmodernists
see high divorce rates as giving individuals the freedom to choose to end a relationship when it no longer meets their needs. They see it as a main cause of family diversity. Beck argues in society traditional norms, such as staying married to one person for life, lose their hold over individuals. As a result, individuals feel free to pursue his or her own interests. This has become known as the individualisation thesis. Relationships therefore become more fragile, because individuals are less willing to remain with a partner if the relationship breaks down.
marriage
marriage stats
In 2016, there were 249,793 marriages in England and Wales, 1.7% more than in 2015, but 1.0% fewer than in 2014.
97.2% of all marriages were between opposite-sex couples and 2.8% were between same-sex couples.
There were 7,019 marriages between same-sex couples in 2016, an increase of 8.1% from 2015; of these marriages, 55.7% were between female couples.
Marriage rates for opposite-sex couples in 2016 were lower at all ages compared with 2006, except for men aged 60 years and over and women aged 50 years and over.
For the first time ever, less than one-quarter (24%) of all marriages in 2016 were religious ceremonies.
80% of divorcees remarry
cohabitation
the meaning of cohabitation
*For some couples it can be a temporary and informal arrangement
*For others it is an alternative or substitute to marriage, a long term, stable and committed partnership, without the legal commitments or patriarchal definitions of a marriage.
*For many it acts as preparation for or as a trial marriage. Chester argued that for most people cohabitation is a trial marriage and about 80% of first time marriages have been preceded by a period of cohabitation
cohabitation
chandler on cohabitation
argues that cohabitation is now chosen as a long term alternative to marriage; this is reflected in the growth of children born outside of marriage but are registered by both parents living at the same address
cohabitation
benjin on cohabitation
argues that young people choose cohabitation as they see it as a more equal relationship than a (patriarchal) marriage
cohabitation
reasons for cohabitation- changing role of women
Women are now more successful in education and this is beginning to be reflected in the labour market, as women seek to pursue their own career they are less willing to take on the demands associated with the housewife and mother role. Women’s growing financial independence and equality in cohabiting relationships means they have less need to get married.
cohabitation
reasons for cohabitation- changing social attitudes and reduced social stigma
Young people are more likely to cohabit than older couples, reflecting the more easy going attitudes to cohabitation.