Families and Households-divorce

changing patterns of divorce

• divorces doubles 1961-1969

• 40% marriages end in divorce

• fall in divorces since 1990s as fewer people marrying choosing to cohabit

• 65% petitions for divorce come from women

changes in law

• equalising grounds 1923 led to steep increase in women filing

• widening grounds 1971 ‘irretrievable breakdown’ doubled divorve rate

• making divorce cheaper 1949

• solutions to unhappy marriage: desertion, legal seperation, epty shell marriage

declining stigma

• Mitchell and Goody: change since 1960s is rapid decline in stigma attached to divorce

• divorce normalised no longer shameful

secularisation

• opposition of church to divorce carries less weight in society so people less influenced by religion

• churches softened views in divorce

rising expectations of marriage

• functionalist Fletcher: higher expectations people place on marriage today cause of rising divorce rates as less willing to tolerate unhappy marriage

• linked to ideology of romantic love-marriage based on this and if love dies no longer reason for marriage

• Allan and Crow: love, personal commitment and intrinsic satisfaction are cornerstones of marriage and absence of this justification for ending relationship

• Fletcher: continuing popularity of marriage. most adults marry and high rates of remarriage after divorce

• feminist critics argue this is too rosy a view and oppression of women within family main cause of divorce

womens increased financial independence

• more likely to be in paid work 53% 1971 to 67% 2013

• equal pay and anti-discrimination laws aim to reduce gender pay gap

• welfare benefits means women dont have to remain financially dependent on husbands

• Allan and Crow: marriage less embedded in economic system now as family no longer unit of consumption so not economically dependent

• women not relying on husband means dont have to tolerate absence of love

feminist explanations

• women take on dual burden which creates conflict leading to higher divorce rates

• private sphere of family and personal relationships change has been limited- marriage patriarchal with men benefiting from triple shift

• Hochschild: at work women feel valued but at home mens resistance to housework is source of frustration and makes marriage less stable. both partners in work leaving less time for emotion work needed to address problems

• Sigle-Rushton: mothers with dual burden more likely to divorce than non-working mothers in marriage with traditional division of labour. in couples where husband actively involved in housework divorce rate same as couples with traditional divisions of labour

• Cooke and Gash: no evidence women more likely to divorce as working is accepted norm for married women

• radical feminist Bernard: women feel dissatisfaction with patriarchal marriage and rising divorce rate evidence of their acceptance of feminist ideas

modernity and individualisation

• Beck and Giddens: traditional norms lose hold over individuals so people free to pursue own self-interest = individualisation thesis. relationships more fragile as unwilling to remain if relationship fails to deliver personal fulfillment. instead seek ‘pure relationship’ (satisfy each others needs) not out of sense of duty or tradition resulting in higher divorce rates so can enter/leave relationships as they see fit

• rising divorce rate normalises divorce and strengthens belief marriage exists to provide personal fulfillment

• women encouraged to work can produce conflict of interest between spouses

interactionist approach

• Morgan: cannot generalise meaning of divorce as different for each individual

• Goody: one interviewee described day father left as best day of her life, another one never recovered

personal life perpective

• Smart: divorce become normalised and family life can adapt without disintegrating and not a social problem, rather a transition

David Cheal - postmodernist

• no longer live in modern society with predictable structures e.g. nuclear family

• no longer single dominant family structure

• family structures fragmented into many different types and individuals have more choice in lifestyles, personal relationships and family arrangements

• greater freedom to plot own life course

• means greater instability so more likely to break up

Stacey - postmodernist

• greater freedom and choice benefited women to free themselves from oppression and shape family arrangements

• women rather than men been main agents of change within family e.g. divorced and remarried

• divorce-extended family members are connected by divorce rather than marriage

Giddens: choice and equality

• family and marriage transformed by greater choice and equal relationship

• result of contraception and womens independence

• couples free to define themselves rather than defined by law or tradition e.g. divorce easily accessible

Beck: negotiated family

• tradition has less influence and we have more choice

• patriarchal family been undermined by greater gender equality and greater individualism

• led to negotiated families who do not conform to traditional norm but family members decide whats best for themselves e.g. divorce

criticisms of individualisation thesis

• Budgeon: individuals do not have complete freedom of choice and traditional norms limit choices

• May: Giddens and Beck view of individual is idealised version of white middle class man and not everyone has same ability as this privileged group exercise choice