Sociology- Divorce
- Created by: Daisymac
- Created on: 14-03-19 11:48
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- Divorce
- Changing patterns of divorce
- Since 60s, has been a significant increase in the no. of divorces
- Number of divorces doubled between 1961 and 69
- The divorce rate in 2012 was 6 times higher than in 1961
- Fall in divorces since the 1990s
- As less people are marrying and cohabit instead
- Changes in law
- Changes in law
- Equalising the grounds for divorce between sexes
- 1923
- Widening the grounds for divorce
- Produced a doubling of divorce rate almost overnight
- Making divorce cheaper
- Introduction of legal aid for divorce cases in 1949 lowered cost of divorces
- Equalising the grounds for divorce between sexes
- Other solutions to being in an unhappy marriage
- Desertion-- When one partner leaves the other but the couple remain married
- Legal separation-- When a court separates the financial and legal affairs of the couple but they remain married
- Empty shell marriage-- Where the couple continue to live under the same roof but remain married in name only
- Changes in law
- Declining stigma and changing attitudes
- Refers to the negative label, social disapproval or shame attached to a person
- Churches condemned divorce and often refused to conduct marriage services involving divorcees
- Mitchell and Goody 1997 note that an important change is the decline in stigma attached to divorce
- Divorce is becoming normalised
- Secularisation
- Decline in the influence of religion in society
- Many argue that religious institutions are losing their influence and society is becoming more secular
- People are less likely to be influenced by religious teachings when making decisions about divorce
- Many churches have begun to soften their views on divorce
- Rising expectations of marriage
- Functionalist Fletcher 1966 argue that higher expectations of marriage are a major cause of rising divorces
- Linked to the ideology of romantic love -- That marriage should be solely based on love
- See that if love dies, there is no longer any justification for remaining married
- In past , marriages were for economic reasons -- Less romantic
- today marriage is not seen as a binding contract
- Functionalists point out that lots of adults remarry, showing they have not rejected marriage as an institution
- Feminists criticise this and argue that the oppression of women within the family is the main cause of divorce
- Functionalists fail to explain more women than men seek divorce
- Women's increased financial independence
- 78% of women in 2017 are engaged in paid work
- Pay gap is narrowing
- Girls get better qualifications in school= getter job positions
- Welfare benefits means women don't have to remain financially dependent on men
- Allan and Crow argue that 'marriage is less embedded within the economic system' now
- Feminist explanations
- Argue that married women today bear a dual burden and this has created a new source of conflict leading to divorce
- Feminists argue that in the private sphere of family and personal relationships, change has been limited and slow
- Hochschild 1997 argues that for many women, the home compares unfavourably with work
- As both partners now to work, it leaves less time to do emotional work --> divorce
- Sigle-Rushton 2007 argues mothers who have a dual burden are more likely to divorce than non working mothers
- Cooke and Gash 2010 found no evidence that working women are more likely to divorce
- Radical feminist Bernard 1976 argued that many women feel a growing dissatisfaction with patriarchal marriage and says divorce represents women accepting feminist ideas
- Modernity and Individualisation
- Beck 1992 and Giddens 1992 argue that in modern society, traditional norms lose their hold over individuals
- Means relationships= more fragile as individuals are unwilling to stay with a partner if the relationship fails to provide personal fulfilment
- Means that individuals become free to pursue their own self interest--> Individualisation thesis
- Beck 1992 and Giddens 1992 argue that in modern society, traditional norms lose their hold over individuals
- Means that individuals become free to pursue their own self interest--> Individualisation thesis
- Pure relationships (Giddens)- Exists solely to satisfy each partner's needs and not out of a sense of duty, tradition, or for the sake of children
- Modern society encourages individualism as women are expected to work as well as men and pursue their own career ambitions --- Marital breakdown
- Meaning of high divorce rate
- The new right
- High divorce rate= undesirable as it undermines marriage and traditional nuclear family
- High divorce rate creates a growing underclass of welfare dependent female lone parents who are a burden on the state
- feminists
- See high divorce rate as desirable as it shows women are breaking free from the oppression of a patriarchal nuclear family
- Postmodernists and individualisation thesis
- See divorce as showing individuals have more freedom to choose when to end a relationship when it no longer meets their needs
- Functionalists
- High divorce rate is not necessarily a threat to marriage as a social institution
- Its the result of higher expectations of marriage
- Interactionists
- To understand what divorce means to individual
- Morgan 1996 argues we cannot generalise the meaning of divorce
- Personal life
- Accepts divorce can cause problems and lack of contact between children and parents
- But smart 2011 said that divorce has become normalised
- The new right
- Changing patterns of divorce
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