Neff also addresses the fact that there are people who are against people moving in together before marriage. She states that it’s a personal decision people make because living together can have lasting positive effects that can later solidify a marriage. The author also states while living together may be valuable for some relationships, it can also be the source of an unhappy ending for others. Even though people love each other and spend a lot of time together, the question still remains, “Can you live together?” I agree with the author’s views on living together before marriage because I am currently sharing a space with my boyfriend. Living together before marriage helps a couple establish roles and responsibilities in the household.
Secularisation is also involved in why there are changing patterns of marriage due to churches being in favour of marriage, but as their influence declines, people feel freer to choose not to marry – according to the 2001 Cenus, 3% of young people with no religion were married, compared to up to 17% of those with a religion. High divorce rates mean divorcees are able to re-marry, however some churches do not marry divorcees. People are also now marrying later as people stay in education till later and are likely to cohabit first. In addition, Alan and Crow agree with the idea that there have been changes in the position of women, they are now better educated, which makes them less dependent on men financially, which makes women have greater freedom not to marry or to end a marriage. In support, feminists see divorce as desirable as it shows that women are breaking free from the oppression of the patriarchal nuclear family.
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.
If paid family leave is extended to both partners it would help reduce gender differences. Bosses would stop penalizing their workers because both males and females would be taking the leave. If more workplaces would offer this to their employers it would hep society become accustomed to this new role fathers should have been playing in the first place. If men would take leave as well as women, they could both have the same achievements at work, such as how much income they recieve. Families are often influenced by the media portrayal of the way women should run their families.
Functionalists like Fletcher believed that divorce was rising because people were raising their expectations in marriage, this suggests that higher divorce rates means higher value of marriage. Women petition for 70% of divorces this shows that the women may be increasingly likely to feel dissatisfied with marriage. The unequal distribution of tasks may be a key factor for example Delphy and Leonard suggest that the woman already performed 57 unpaid roles for their partner. This places a great deal of pressure on the wife leading them to believe that divorce is the key to lift this burden off their shoulders. Couples also had fewer children which again may mean that there is less to keep them together leading to an increase in
Today, marriage is based on the idea of love. Before getting married, couples take vows to love one another no matter what until death parts them. This, according to Coontz, ensures that couples are getting married for emotional and sexual fulfillment (or Love), rather than survival and political gain. That is why it is believed that “married couples should be best friends, sharing their most intimate feelings and secrets” Love, Coontz explains, is not a new idea and it has been seen in marriages before. Even though many marriages in history were arranged, the couples eventually fell in love.
Many of these women were married very young, out of high school or just out of college, and they never really were on their own. They were used to being financially dependent on their husbands and did not know how to support themselves after a divorce. Since the divorce laws in those days also favored the men, many women opted not to take up an already lost battle. However, a lot has changed since those days. Not only is divorce more accepted today by the society, but also women are much more financially liberated.
Finally, Coontz brought forth if someone is not marrying for love but just for the status then what is the point of getting married. I do agree with her about this and also, the point about the media blowing the idea of happily ever after out of proportion by just believing that only true love will hold a marriage together that is false. True love can bring people together but would not keep them together, this is something that marriages cannot solely rely on it takes hard work and dedication to keep a marriage
As time progresses it becomes more likely for a family to exist without a present mother or father, whether it be to divorce or the two never being married to begin with. As it becomes more common, we also see that it is growing to be more accepted. We see the bond that is created through the McPherons and Victoria. When looking at the three, you may think it is an odd family, but they prove to love each other just as much as any “normal” family in our society today. Our society is beginning to accept that family means more than just your blood, but who actually takes on the role of truly being your
Mainly affecting my generation, jobs that should be given to college graduates are not even open yet because senior employees are staying in companies when normally they would have retired. Social Security also poses an issues because younger generations are paying into the “baby boomers” social security. The main scare is that it will run out and those that paid into it might not even be able to receive it when needed. This is causing drastic changes in the world affecting all ages and all kinds of people. Unfortunately this issue really cant be addressed and the world will just have to adapt to the fact that people are living longer lives.