Topic 5 - Changing Family Patterns

Question 1

Feminist explanations

What does Hochschild say is the reason for higher divorce rates?

why has divorce increased?

Answer 1

Home is unfavourable when comapared to work - women feel valued at work but men’s refusal to do housework is frustrating and leads to conflict, the marriage is unstable, causing higher divorce rates

Question 2

How was women’s increased financial independence caused higher divorce rates?

Answer 2

Women being more likely to seek divorce comes from them no longer being economically dependent on their husband, don’t have to stay in an unhappy marriage - equal pay act, reduce pay gap

Question 3

How has rising expectations of marriage caused more divorces according to Fletcher?

Answer 3

People have high expectations about marriage (ideas of romantic love) and when the marriage doesn’t live up to their wishes, people are less tolerable and are more likely to divorce
By contrast, in the past individuals had less choice in who they married and were likely to have lower expectations in who they married - less likely to divorce

Question 4

What feminist say that women are likely to divorce due to dual burden?

Answer 4

• Sigle Rushton
• Mothers who have a dual burden of paid and domestic work are more likely to divorce than non-working mothers in marriages with a traditional division of labour
• Where a husband of a working wife is actively involved in housework, the divorce rate is the same as for couples with a traditional division of labour

Question 5

What feminist says that women feel a growing dissatisfaction with patriarchal marriage?

Answer 5

• Bernard - rad-fem
• Women have a growing dissatisfaction with patriarchal marriage
• She sees the rising divorce rate and the fact that most petitions come from women as their growing acceptance of feminist ideas:
• Women are becoming more conscious of patriarchal oppression & more contifdent about rejecting it

Question 6

Modernity & individualisation as an explanation for increasing divoce rates

Answer 6

• Beck and Giddens
• In modern society, traditional norms such as duty to remain with the same partner for life, lose their hold over individuals
• Meaning individuals become free to pursue his/her/their own interests
• Describes this as the individualisation thesis
• Relationships become more fragile because people beome unwilling to remain with a partner if the relationship fails to deliver personal fulfillment
• Thus modern society encourages individualistion as women are encourged to pursue career ambitions which contributes to conflict between spouses - marital breakdown

Question 7

declining stigma as a cause for higher divorce rates?

Answer 7

• Mitchell & Goody
• Important changes since the 1960s (such as 1969 divorce reform act) has been the reason for the rapid decline in stigma attached to divorce
• As stigma declines, divorce becomes socially acceptable
• Couples become more willing to resort to divorce as a means of solving their maritial problems

Question 8

How can changing attitudes to marriage explain reasons for marriage pattern change?

Answer 8

• Women are more aware of the patriarchal nature of marriage, taking husbands surname, loss of identity, ownership, less need to marry, women have greater financial independence