Divorce Flashcards
overview of trends
|* There has been a long term increase in the overall divorce rate
* The increase was especially rapid following the 1969 Divorce Act (see below)
* Since 2005 the Divorce rate has declined.
explain the long term increase in divorce rates
social policy - rapid increase of divorce after the 1969 divorce act which which extended the grounds of divorce to irretrievable breakdown meaning couples could divorce even if one one person wanted to only - however divorce was already increasing before and many ears after the act
economic factors - lower classes are getting paid less than than the rising living costs so now both partners must work which can lead to a strain on the marriage leading to divorce - this is evident through a higher divorce rate in working class couples
new right view on the increase of divorce
Would claim that increasingly generous welfare benefits for single mothers is
a crucial factor which allows women to divorce if they deem it necessary
see divorce rates as a sign of wider moral decline
feminist view on increase of divorce
Women today are much more likely to be in employment today and this means they are less
financially dependent on their husbands and thus freer to end an unsatisfactory marriage. The
proportion of women in some kind of paid work is now 70%, whereas in the 1950s it was less than
50%
Feminists however, point out that the
advances of women can be exaggerated – women still earn less than men, and traditional gender
norms remain in many families.
Giddens view
Giddens himself argues that two trends are the most important
– the impact of the Feminist
movement, which arguably lies behind all of the above changes, and also the advances in
contraception – which allows women to avoid unwanted pregnancies – and women in marriages
without children will be freer to leave those marriages.
postmodernist view on increased divorced rate
Both religion and
traditional values have declined in Britain.
no longer a set of social values
which force people into staying married
there is less social stigma attached to getting a divorce
and so people are freer to choose to get divorced.
This change reflects the declining importance of
social structure and the rise of consumer culture – the idea that individuals can choose their own
lifestyles
Ulrich Beck (late postmodernist) view
points out that divorce has increased because the typical late-modern family is
characterised by more gender equality and negotiation – pleasing both partners takes a lot of time
and effort, which is simply not sustainable when both partners are in paid work, which in turn
explains the high levels of divorce.
explanation of short term decline in divorce since 2005
Fewer people are getting married, so there are fewer people who can divorce
Because people are getting married later, they are more likely to stay together
People can’t afford to get a divorce and set up two new homes
Increased immigration. Immigrants are more likely to hold traditional values and thus less likely
to get divorced.
