Topic 2- LATs & Child bearing

• LATs= Levin- New family form- LATs, Alternative to marriage, Individuals are LTC, seen as a couple,don't share a common home, live separate 
• Growth of LATs

-Changes in labour market

-Modern technology- Close contact can be maintained

-Growing individualisation and choice in relationships

-LATs has become more socially acceptable

-Duncan and Phillip- LATs widely understood, accepted by public as approved alternative to marriage

-Levin- Growth of LATs= Socia change, changing norms, to open new style of relationships

-Haskey - 2 million couples in 2002 in LATs

• Meaning of LATs- "Pure Relationship"

-Levin= LATs enables couples to pursue the intimacy of being in a couple and perserve individual autonomy and identity= BUT: Duncan and Phillips- LATs subject to same expectation about commitment as marriage

• Levin- 3 main reasons why people choose LATs:

1. Responsibility and care

2. Pratical reasons; Working/ studying- LATs avoid conflict

3. Risk- Funk and Kobayashi- LATs means for a partners to protect personal independence and personal space, enables each partner to pursue their own interests, which redues sacrifices, compromises and obligations, suggested that LATs rooted in mutual satisfaction and exchanges in mutual support 

• Changes in child bearing: Growing proportion of births oustide of marriage:

-Less social stigma attatched to births outside marriage

-47% of births outside marriage= 5 times more than the proportion in 1971

- 9 out of 10 of births in 2011 registered jointly by parents. Both parents in 3 out of 4 gave the same address- Shows parents were cohabititing 

• Changes in child bearing: Families getting smaller- No. of births dropping,women having fewer children, women remaining childless

- WHY? Rising costs of children- £154,00

-WHY? Changing role of women- Priority to jobs

-WHY? Beck- Gernsheim- Growing individualization