marriage, cohabitation and divorce Flashcards
reasons for trends in marriage and cohabitation - decrease in first marriages
weddings expensive so people don’t get married
fear of divorce
changes in social attitude - no more stigma to having children outside marriage
influence of feminism - sharpe - interviewed girls in 1976 and 1994 and found changes in their views about marriage
changes in position of women - better education and career prospects
reasons for trends in marriage and cohabitation - increase in remarriage
mass media promotes idea of romantic love so people still look for the ‘right person’ even after divorce
secularisation - people dont feel the need to marry in religious place of worship so divorced people remarry at any venue
change in social attitudes - serial monogamy is acceptable, protestant churches allow remarriage blessings so even divorced people can get remarried in churches
divorce - feminist theory
marriage = social institution based on inequalities
divorce allows women trapped in violent or empty shell marriages to leave
cohabitation allows woman to ‘test’ if man is right for her before they get married
divorce - postmodernist theory
divorce more socially acceptable as families are more about a changing set of relationships than fixed set of duties regulated by legal and social responsibilities
marriage = based on agreed wishes and needs of the couple
cohabitation = another family form a couple may choose to live in
divorce - new right theory
divorce shouldn’t be easy to obtain and couples should try to work on their relationship
gov should make divorce hard to obtain and should encourage marriage
cohabiting couples more likely to split up - can create LPFs which can’t socialise children properly - more social instability
marriage between 2 hets = cornerstone of a civilised and ordered society
reasons for increase in divorce
legal changes since 1969.
influence of feminist movement
increase of secularisation
