Marriage and Cohabitation Changes in the Last 40 Years

872 Words4 Pages
Identify Changing patterns in marriages and cohabitation Marriages have been in decline since the early 1950s, after the second world war, Women who worked in the factories and were the sole provider for the family were pushed back into the housework and childcare by husbands who returned from the war. The rise of feminism in the 60s and 70s forced the government to implicate new legislation such as the Divorce Reform Act of 1969 and the Equal Pay Act of 1970, these made divorces much more accessible to women as they could file for the 'irretrievable breakdown' of marriage; and could also now support themselves. Feminist argue that the main reason for the decline in marriages and the increase in cohabitation is the change in societies ideology, women now prioritise a career and financial security over starting a family. This means many women are postponing marriage and instead are cohabiting while they achieve career aspiration Some New Right sociologists commented that the drop in marriages is a disaster for society and will do a lot of harm in the long run, they argue that families ho get divorced can turn the children to gangs and violence if the father, who usually has less custody, is not around. New right analysis of marriage stats from the ONS concluded that marriage is good for the health and that a national drop could have serious implications on society. Post modernist believe the reason for the reduction in marriages and the rise in cohabitation is the reduced stigma around premarital sex; Young people are more willing to test the water with a partner to see if the relationship works. The Equal Opportunity Act in 1970 allowed women to become much more independent of their husbands and partners. This in conjunction with the Divorce Reform Act of 1969 which gave couples divorcing, the opportunity to put no party at blame for the divorce.
Open Document