New right thinkers however; believe that these laws undermine the traditional male dominance in families, but many believe these new policies for women and children strengthen the family rather than weaken it. Sociologists such as new right thinkers argue that the Labour party has constructed a ‘nanny state’ which over-intervenes in personal living arrangements. The Labour party have constructed many laws beneficial for women in families as they have realised most families now rely of two
People are also expecting more from marriage, and women especially are choosing to live alone due to feminist views. One reason for the growth in single hood could be the change in the law for divorce. In 1969 the Divorce Reform Act allowed people to divorce easier, as it meant they could put in place a no fault act. This meant that people didn't feel forced to stay in a marriage that made them unhappy. Furthermore, this would lead to a lot of people expecting more from relationships after getting divorced, as they wouldn't want to fall victim to what cause their last marriage to end again.
Secularisation means the decline of the importance / influence of religion in society. Due to science becoming more influential in a modern society, religion is no longer necessarily seen as such an important contributor. As marriage is a religious concept, it might also now be seen as somewhat less significant in society and many might not perceive it to be as valuable or important as it once was. Divorce could be the result of this as the decline of the value of marriage might lead people to believe it is not long term. A third reason for changes in the divorce rate is the changes in women’s expectations surrounding marriage.
Throughout history men are seen as the “strong/tough ones”; the belief is that they should be paid more than women in order to support their families (Loney, 2005). Women often take time off from work to raise their children, which can interfere with their career path. Also, married women with children are more likely to leave their jobs, rather than women who are single and/or without
Half Term Assessment 1. Polyandry mean a woman has two or more husbands 2. The two functions the nuclear family can perform are 3. The three reasons for change in divorce rates since 1969 are that its now easier to get a divorce, people’s views on religion have changed which means they don’t take marriage seriously anymore so they are likely to divorce and they have changed because people expect a lot in a relationship 4. The Marxist view that the main role of the family is to serve the interests of capitalism.
This undermines their motivation and self-esteem therefore they give up on trying to do well in education and have a fatalistic attitude towards it. Another reason why girls achieve better could be because of the changes in the family. There is now an increase of the number lone-parent female headed families and these changes are affecting girls attitudes towards education. This could be because an increased number of female headed lone-parent families means that
Moreover, things such as same-sex relationships and lone parent families was stigmatised four example by most churches condemning it. However within society today stigma has also declined rapidly, making things such as same-sex relationships more normalised therefore it being seen as more acceptable. Another reason for family diversity is due to the change in attitudes and laws and important factor causing the attitude and Laws to be changed the changes that at of attitude and position of woman. The women's equal pay act 1970 influence the women to focus more on their career and I'm making money rather than just being a 'housewife.' The addition of the introduction of the lane apparently welfare benefits it allows wife to be less economically dependent on their husbands.
However, some women joined the work force and would do jobs that men previously had held. Some were not forced to, but they had to work as hard as they could to support their families during this difficult time. In contrast, the writer Norman Cousins commented that there was a negative opinion on the women’s presence in the workforce despite women willing to acquire a living wage. He also stated in his book that the federal government proscribed holding government jobs by both members of a married couple, and many localities stopped hiring women whose husbands with a minimum wage (Cousins 1939). Another aspect of the Depression affecting life of women was the moral argument against working-women.
Refugees have also been made available for women by the government, which have allowed women to escape domestic violence. However, some feminists argue social policies reinforce patriarchal ideas of men and women. For example, tax/benefit policies assume husbands are the main wage earners and this means women can find it difficult to claim benefits in their own right, which reinforces women’s dependency on men. Therefore, some women may less likely to get divorced so may be left in an empty shell
Oakley found that up until the 1980s pregnancy and childbirth were seen as natural processes and consequently there was less intervention from doctors. However Oakley notes that since then doctors have increasingly medicalised childbirth and pregnancy and taken control from midwives. Doctors now treat pregnant women as ‘patients’ in need of medical treatment. The body as a social construct Feminists have long argued that in modern societies the patriarchal media has pressured women to possess a certain identity and to be thin which can endanger their health by causing diseases such as eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder. Mental health Chesler says labelling is done by a male dominated profession who are more susceptible to mental illnesses.