views on divorce

Question 1

POSTMODERNISM view on divorce

(BECK AND GIDDENS)

Answer 1

• traditional norms have disappeared (e.g. having a partner for life)
• relationships have become more fragile - as people are unwilling to remain in a relationship if it fails to deliver personal fulfilment
• rising divorce rates normalises divorce and strengthens the belief that marriage exists solely to provide personal fulfilment
• GIDDENS calls this the ‘pure relationship’ which is based on personal fulfilment rather than traditional values of duty or the sake of the children
• individualist society encourages freedom to explore self-interest above anything else

Question 2

FEMINIST view on divorce

(JESSICA BERNARD)

Answer 2

• says many woman are dissatisfied with patriarchal marriages
• many women work now and are particularly dissatisfied with the triple shift
• more women petition for divorce than men, suggesting women reject the patriarchal opression

Question 3

THE NEW RIGHTs view on divorce

Answer 3

• high divorce rates undermine the nuclear family
• its a threat to social stability
• it creates a growing underclass of welfare dependent lone parent families
• leaves boys without a male role model

Question 4

FUNCTIONALIST view on divorce

Answer 4

• a high divorce rate does not prove that marriage is under threat
• it is simply a result of high expectations of marriage
• the high rate of remarriages shows that society still values the idea of marriage