Divorce

Divorce

Judicial declaration dissolving a marriage

Annulment

Marriage was nit legal and did not happen at all

Voided Annulment

• under 16

• already

• forced

• close family member

Defective Annulment

• not consummated (opposite sex only)

• not consented due to drugs and alcohol

• one partner has an STI prior to marriage

• woman is pregnant by another man at time of marriage

Divorce Trends

Increased since 1950s

• 41% of couples have divorced before their 25th wedding anniversary

Divorce Causes: Changes in Laws

Divorce was very difficult to obtain in 19th century Britain - overtime made easier!

• equalising the groups (the legal reasons) for divorce

• widening the grounds for divorce

• making divorce cheaper

Divorce Causes: Changes in Laws - increase

• 1923: sharp increase in the number of divorce petitions by women - the grounds for divorce were equalised

• 1971: ‘irretrievable breakdown’ made divorce easier to obtain and produced a doubling of the divorce rate (almost overnight)

• 1949: lowered the cost of divorcing

Divorce rates have risen with each change in the law

Divorce Causes: Changes in Laws - alternative solutions

• Desertion: one partner leaves the other, but the couple remain legally married

• Legal Separation: where a court separate the financial and legal affairs of the couple but where they remain married and are not free to re-marry

• ‘Empty shell’ marriage: where the couple continue to live under the same roof but remain married in name only

However, as divorce has become easier to obtain, these solutions have become less popular

Divorce Causes: Secularisation

Refers to the decline in the influence of religion

• traditionally opposition of the churches to divorce carries less weight - people less likely to be influenced by religious teachings

• many churches soften their views on divorce and divorcees - fear losing credibility with large sections

Divorce Causes: Changing Social Attitudes and Reduced Stigmas - Mitchell and Goody

Important changes since the 1960s has been the rapid decline in the stigma attached to divorce

• more socially acceptable

• regarded simply as misfortune

Divorce Causes: Rising Expectation of Marriage - Fletcher (Functionalist)

People place higher expectations on marriage

• higher expectations make couples less willing to tolerate an unhappy marriage

Ideology of romantic love: belief that marriage should be based solely on love - if love dies they should no longer be married

Divorce Causes: Rising Expectation of Marriage - Allan and Crow

“The absence of these feelings is itself justification for ending the relationship” (love)

Divorce Causes: Rising Expectation of Marriage - Functionalist Positive

Optimistic view and state that marriage is still popular

• marriage is still an institution: not being rejected by society - re-marriage rates remain high after divorce

Divorce Causes: Feminists Negative

Too rosy of a view

• oppression of women within the family is the main cause of marital conflict and divorce - functionalists ignore this

• functionalists explain rising divorce rates but fail to explain why it is mainly women rather than men who seek divorce

Divorce Causes: Changes to the role of Women

Women are now less financially dependant

• women generally still earn less than men - equal pay and anti-discrimination: narrow pay gap

• girls’ greater success in education

• the availability of welfare benefits

Divorce Cause: Changes in the role of Women - Feminism

Married women still have dual burden and triple shift = conflict

• improvements in the private sphere does not reflect the limited changes

Divorce Cause: Changes in the role of Women - Single-Rushton (Feminism)

Mothers who have a dual burden of paid work and domestic work are more likely to divorce than non-working mothers in marriages with a traditional division of labour

Divorce Cause: Changes in the role of Women - Hochschild (Feminism)

For many women - work is a place they feel valued, whereas at home, men’s continuing resistance: a source of frustration and makes marriages less stable

• women have less time and energy for the emotional work

• higher divorce rates

Divorce Cause: Changes in the role of Women - Cooke and Gash (Feminist - Negative)

Found no evidence that working women are more likely to divorce

• work has now become the accepted norm for married women

Divorce Cause: Changes in the role of Women - Bernard (Feminist - Negative)

Radical Feminist

The rising divorce rate & most petitions coming from women - growing acceptance of feminist ideas

• Women are becoming aware of patriarchal oppression and more confident about rejecting it

Divorce Cause: Changes in the role of Women - Beck and Giddens (Modernity and individualisation)

There has been a change of norms in modern society, such as the duty to be with the same partner for life

• Individualisation Thesis: everyone becomes free to pursue their self-interest

• Individuals become more unwilling to remain with a partner if they fail to deliver person fulfilment

Divorce Cause: Changes in the role of Women - Giddens (Modernity and individualisation)

Individuals seek a ‘pure relationship’: one that exists solely to satisfy each partner’s need

Rising divorce rate normalises divorce and strengthens this belief - conflict of interest between spouses and contribute to marital breakdown

Impacts of Changing Divorce Rate - Feminism

High Divorce = DESIRABLE - women’s liberation

• women are breaking free of the oppression of the patriarchal nuclear family

Impacts of Changing Divorce Rate - Interactionist (Morgan)

Divorce means something different for every couples

• Morgan: cannot generalise about the meaning of high divorce

Everyone has different experiences

Impacts of Changing Divorce Rate - The New Right

Divorce = UNDESIRABLE - undermines the tradition nuclear family

• creates an underclass of welfare dependant female lone parents

• leaves young boys without a male role model

Impacts of Changing Divorce Rate - Postmodern

High divorce shows people have the freedom to choose to end a relationship if it no longer meets their needs

• major cause of family diversity

Impacts of Changing Divorce Rate - Personal life (Smart)

Divorce can cause problems

• Smart argues that divorce has become ‘normalised’ - families can adapt to it without disintegrating

Divorce is just one transition in a person’s life course

Impacts of Changing Divorce Rate - Functionalist

High divorce rate does not prove that marriage as a social institution is under threat - people just have high expectations

• still high remarriages to show commitment to marriage