partners and households - marriage

trends in marriage

• decline in marriage rates

• more cohabitation without marriage

• The age of marriage is increasing

• same sex marriages (legalised in the UK in 2014) - reflect the social attitudes

• civil partnerships - introduced in 2005 for same sex couples

reasons for changing patterns in marriage

• changing attitudes - people today view marriage as a personal choice rather than a social expectation - more acceptance of cohabitation and same sex relationships, choosing not to marry, marriage seen less like a lifelong commitment and more about mutual satisfaction.

• Secularisation - religious influences decline, so fewer people feel the need to marry in a religious context or follow traditional views on relationships, leading to a decrease in marriage rates and a rise in cohabitation and civil partnerships

• declining stigma attached to alternatives - less social stigma around being single and cohabitating or having children outside of marriage - lifestyle choices are more accepted, reducing the pressure to marry

• changes in the position of women - women have gained greater independence through access to education and careers - less financially dependent on men, which means they are less likely to marry for economic reasons and more likely to delay or avoid marriage

• fear of divorce - with rising divorce rates, some people are more cautious about entering into marriage - they may avoid it due to emotional trauma or financial concerns associated with divorce.

postmodernist view - confluent love

• Giddens’ confluent love relationships are now based on intimacy, closeness, and emotion rather than obligation, so they are more at risk of breaking down - serial monogamy leads to

• Individualisation thesis - traditional norms and social structures exert less influence on individuals, leading to increased self-direction and choice in personal relationships.

functionalist view

• Marriage is important for maintaining social order.

• It provides a stable structure for raising children.

• Functionalists like Parsons argue marriage plays a key role in primary socialisation and the stabilisation of adult personalities.

new right view

• Marriage is seen as the ideal family form (nuclear family).

• They argue that the decline in marriage and rise in cohabitation or single-parent families leads to social problems.

Marxist view

• Marriage supports capitalism by reproducing the next generation of workers.

• It helps pass down private property through inheritance (Engels).

feminist view

• Marriage can oppress women (especially in patriarchal societies).

• Radical feminists argue marriage reinforces male dominance.

• Liberal feminists accept that marriage has changed and can be more equal.

cohabitation

• cohabitating couples tend to be young

• Chester - cohabitation is a prelude to marriage

• 80 percent of people cohabiting go on to marry later on

single hood

• some people never marry

• choice or do not find a suitable partner

• numbers are increasing

creative singlehood

• Term used to describe a positive view of singlehood, whereby people choose to stay single as a lifestyle option

• change in norms/ values and expectations

• individualization thesis

• career plans

• criticisms - still social pressure to get married and have children

childbearing

• families are smaller

• more women are having no children

• women are having children later on in life

ethnic differences

• Barrow - black families have a higher proportion of lone-parent families

• Ballard - Asian families - larger families sometimes with 3 generations extended and linked to cultural values

• ONS - Asian , Asian British or Asian Welsh - more likely to live in multi generational households

explanations

• contraceptive pill

• changing social attitudes

• cost of children

• migration