changing family patterns Flashcards
(64 cards)
Divorce
The number of divorces in the Uk have doubled between 1961 and 1969 and have doubled again by 1972. The upward trend continued, peaking in 1993 at 165,00.
Number of divorces in 2012
In 2012 there has been 118,000 which is about six times higher than in 1961 which means that about 40% of all marriages will end in divorce
Why has there been a decrease in the number of divorces since 1990s ?
Fewer people are getting married and more people are choosing to cohabit.
What percentage of petitions for divorce now come from women?
Now 65%
In 1946 only 37%
What type of couples are most likely to divorce ?
- those who marry young
-those that have a child before they marry
-those who cohabit before marriage
-those who were one or both parents have been married before
Finish the statement
equalising the ground…
the legal reasons for divorce between the sexes
1923
widening the grounds…
for divorce (1971)
make divorce…
cheaper (1949)
what is desertion?
when one couple leaves the other but they remain married
What is legal separation ?
where a court separates the financial and legal affairs of the couple but they remain married and are not free to re-marry
What is ‘empty shell’ marriage
Where the couple continues to live under the same roof but remain married in name only
Decline in stigma and changing attitudes
stigma refers to the negative label, social disapproval and shame attached to a person, action or relationship.
church opinion on divorce
Churches tend to condemn divorce and often refuse to conduct marriage services involving divorcees.
What did Mitchell and Goody say?
Note an important change since the 1960s has been the rapid decline of stigma attached to divorce.
Fletcher 1966
Argue that the higher expectations people place on marriage today are a major cause of rising divorce rates. It makes couples less willing to tolerate an unhappy marriage
Romantic love
Marriage should be based solely on love and that for each individual there is a Miss or Mr Right out there.
What is the justification?
If love dies there is no longer any justification for remaining married and to find your true soulmate.
What was the last view ?
Individuals often had little choice in who they married and at a time when the family was also a unit production and marriages were conducted for economic reasons
What is Fletchers optimistic view ?
Most adults marry and the high rate of re-marriage after divorce shows that although divorvees may have become dissatisfied with a particular partner they haven’t rejected marriage as an institution.
What’s the feminist view ?
The oppression of women within the family is the main cause of martial conflict and divorce m
Women’s increased financial independence
- women today are much more likely to be in paid work. 53% in 1971 to 67% in 2013
- girls greater success in education now helps them achieve better- paid jobs than previous generations
-welfare and benefits
-Anti-discrimination laws
Allan and crow
“marriage is less embedded within the economic system “ now.
Feminist explanation - dual burden
Married women bear a dual burden: paid woke in addition to perform domestic labour.
This causes conflict
Feminist explanation- marriage is patriarchal
Marriage remind patriarchal and men bring it from their wives. ‘Triple shift’ of paid work, domestic work and emotional work