a) Outline and Explain reasons for the growth in singlehood in the contemporary UK. [15] Singlehood in the UK has grown over the years, for example, women born between 1946 and 1950, only 7% remained unmarried, however women born between 1961 and 1965, 28% of women remained unmarried, with a similar trend for men. The growth for singlehood could be for a number of different reasons. People are now taking advantage of the new divorce law, and the changing views on singlehood. People are also expecting more from marriage, and women especially are choosing to live alone due to feminist views.
This was introduced by the Labour party, who Lewis argues have taken on the idea of ‘social investment in children’ seriously and have realised family forms are changing. The Labour party have introduced a number of laws, attempting to strengthen the family unit. They were mainly concerned on helping the social and economic position of women, for example, marital rape was made illegal in 1991 by the Labour party. The rights of children have also been improved by the labour party due to the children’s act of 1989. 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.
Outline and explain the reasons for the rise in single parent families in UK society British people are increasingly likely to live in single-parent families, stay at home for longer, marry later and struggle to afford a house. The Office of National Statistics said children in the UK were three times more likely to live in one-parent households than they were in 1972. According to the ONS, since 1971 the proportion of all people living in "nuclear" family households of married couples with children has fallen from 52% to 37%. There are several reasons to why there is a rise in single parent families. More children are born in Britain today outside of marriage than in most other European countries.
This was an important reason as to why the vote was extended to more and more people. In conclusion, there were people who argued for reform but those who opposed reform also had a case. The franchise was extended to more and more people so that it could prevent a possible revolution but there were still some people that did not have the vote. It was not until 1928 with Representation of the People Act 1928 that women were granted the right to vote on the same terms as
Research shows that 28% of homes are single person households. This is due to the divorce rates increasing to a rate where it is now the norm, whereas in the past, society would look down on an individual who even considered divorce (social stigma). Research shows that now 40% of marriages have ended in
Sociology Of The Family Assignment Family trends in the last decade have sufficiently changed according to statistics brought together by national statistics. Lone parenting on a general whole has increased. To prove this, national Statistics (2007) show clear results of family type changes since 1971 to 2006. From 1979 to 2006 lone parenting has more than doubled going from 3 percentage points to 7 percentage points. When looking more in-depth, and looking at female and male, results show lone mother families with one child has increased from 2 percentage points to 7 percentage points, 2 children in a lone mother family has increased by more than four times the amount from 2 percentage points to 9 percentage points.
Examine the ways in which government policies and laws may affect the nature and extent of family diversity: Some sociologists have suggested that government/social policies have led to more diversity in families, while others disagree. Social policies are laws the state puts in place, in order to meet the needs of the system. One way in which families have become more diverse is the increase in same sex families. In the UK in 1967, homosexuality was legalised which meant same sex families were more socially acceptable. In 2002, the UK adoption laws changed, which meant gay couples were now allowed to adopt children, which led to an increase in same sex couples with children and less typically the nuclear family, with a male and female parent.
There is much to say about gender roles and relationships and the view that they have become more equal. Item 2B mentions Gershuny who argues that there is a trend towards greater equality and says that there is often greater equality between the husband and wife IF the wife is in full time employment. His study’s identified a period of ‘lagged adaptation’ which is a time gap between the time when a woman starts paid work and t eh time where her husband increases his domestic activity. Devine would agree with Gershuny in the idea that we are moving towards greater equality but she identifies the fact that even though men are supposedly helping more, it is not enough and domestic labour is still seen as primarily the women’s responsibility.
Legal changes are changes in the laws surrounding divorce. Changes in these laws have made divorces easier and cheaper to get and given men and women equal rights in filing for one – leading to a rise in divorce rates. However, there are many other factors that also contribute to a rise in divorce rates, for example secularisation and feminism – changes in society and its attitudes that form its views on different matters, including divorce. All of these factors play a role in the rate of divorce in the contemporary UK, but as to which is the main reason for the increase in divorce over the past forty years will be discussed in this essay. On the one hand, it can be said that legal changes are the main reason for the increase in divorce over the last forty years due to acts brought into force, such as the Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1984.
Couples can share a life of dreams, excitement and happiness. Many believe that marriage put women in higher risk factors for abuse and violence. Marriage has become only a statement now because of the widespread social change. Many have stated that being marriage is not important any longer and choose to live together instead. But this is not the same as sharing an intimate and fulfilling life.