Divorce
- Created by: kiera
- Created on: 04-03-24 08:47
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- Explanations for the increase in divorce
- 1. Changes in the law
- Laws have made divorce gradually easier, through; equalising the grounds (in 1923 seen a sharp rise in women wanting divorse), widening the grounds(‘irretrievable breakdown’ divorce doubled almost overnight) and making it cheaper.
- Couples have other options to solve an unhappy marriage; legal dissertation (splitting but still married), legal separation (court separates legal affairs but still married) and ‘empty shell’ marriage (live together and married but not together)
- A03- although changes in the law have gave people the freedom to divorce it doesn’t explain why people are taking advantage of it and we have to look at other changes to
- 2. Declining stigma and changing attitudes
- In the past divorce has been stigmatised, e.g. churches tended to condemn divorce and wouldn’t conduct marriage services for divorcees
- Juliet Mitchell and jack goody note an important change since 1960s had been the rapid decline in the stigma attached to divorce
- 3. Secularisation
- Decline in influence of religion in society e.g. church attendance rates continue to decline- couples are less likely to be influenced by religious teachings when making decisions
- A03- churches have began to soften their vies on divorce, probably because they faer lodging credibility
- 4. Rising expectations of marriage
- Ronald fletcher (functionalist)- higher expectations people place on marriage today are major because of divorce rates. Couples less willing to tolerate and unhappy marriage
- Ideology of romantic love- become more dominant, its the idea that marriage should be based solely on love, and there is mr and mrs right out there
- In the past people had little choice on who they married- largely for economic reasons out of duty to the family. Individuals unlikely to have high expectations so were less likely to be dissatisfied by the absence of romance and intimacy.
- A03- functionalists the high rate of re-marriage after divorce shows that although divorcees may become dissatisfied with a particular partner they haven’t rejected marriage
- Feminist critics argue the oppression of women within the family is the main cause of divorce, functionalists fail to explain why its mainly women that seek divorce
- 5. Women’s increased financial independence
- More women in paid work- rose from 53% in 1971 to 67% in 2013
- Although women still generally earn less than men- the equal pay and anti-discrimination laws have helped to narrow the gap
- Girls greater success in education helps them to get more qualified jobs
- Availability of welfare benefits mean that woman no longer have to remain financially dependent on their husbands
- Allan and Crow- “marriage is less embedded within the economic system”- families no longer a unit of production
- 6. Feminist explanations
- Women taking on triple shift- feminists argue that in the private sphere of family and personal relationships change has been limited and low
- Arlie hochschild- at work women feel valued by men’s continued resistance to doing housework is a source of frustration and both partners working leaves less time for it to be pinned on one person
- 1. Changes in the law
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