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Reasons For Changes In Divorce, The meaning of a high divorce rate -…
Reasons For Changes In Divorce
Legal Changes
Three Types:
Historically, the law changed in three ways: equalising the grounds (giving men and women the same rights), widening the grounds (making more reasons legally valid), and making divorce cheaper.
Key Legislation:
1923 Matrimonial Causes Act: Equalised the grounds between men and women.
1969 Divorce Reform Act (effective 1971): Abolished the concept of the "guilty party" or matrimonial offence. It replaced it with a single ground: "irretrievable breakdown" of the marriage.
1949 Legal Aid and Advice Act: Made legal fees affordable to lower-income individuals, making divorce financially accessible to a wider demographic.
Declining Stigma and Changing Attitudes
Definition of Stigma:
Stigma refers to the negative social shame, disgrace, or disapproval attached to a person or an act.
Sociological Study:
Mitchell and Goody (1997) note that a crucial change since the 1960s is the rapid decline in the social stigma attached to divorce.
Normalisation:
Because the stigma has faded, divorce has become a "normalised" life event rather than a shameful secret. Couples now view it simply as a practical mechanism to solve an unhappy relationship.
Secularisation
Definition:
Secularisation is the decline in the influence of religion across society.
Impact on Marriage:
Sociologists note that as society becomes more secular, religious teachings and institutional vows hold less moral sway over individuals.
Desanctification:
Marriage is no longer universally viewed as a sacred, binding spiritual contract in the eyes of God. Consequently, people feel far less guilt about breaking marriage vows, and churches have simultaneously softened their condemnation of divorcees.
Rising Expectations of Marriage
Functionalist Perspective:
Ronald Fletcher (1966) argues that the high divorce rate actually reflects the higher value people place on marriage today.
The Ideology of Romantic Love:
Marriage is increasingly entered into solely for mutual love and emotional fulfilment, rather than for economic duty or family obligation.
The "Empty Shell" Refusal:
Allan and Crow argue that couples are no longer willing to tolerate an "empty shell" marriage. If personal love dies, the marriage has lost its functional purpose, and individuals will seek a divorce to find a more satisfying relationship elsewhere.
Women’s Increased Financial Independence
Economic Freedom:
Women are no longer economically dependent on a male breadwinner, meaning they can afford to leave an abusive or unhappy marriage.
Factors Driving Independence:
Significant increases in female paid employment (the narrowing gender pay gap).
Success in girl-centered education allowing women to build their own independent careers.
Welfare state provisions (such as financial support for lone parents) which provide a safety net outside of marriage.
Feminist Explanations
The Dual Burden / Triple Shift:
Feminists argue that married women face a double standard—working a paid job while retaining primary responsibility for domestic labour and emotional care.
Conflict at Home:
Arlie Hochschild (1997) notes that while the public sphere (work) has changed for women, the private sphere (home) remains patriarchal. This creates intense emotional friction, leading to relationship breakdowns.
Radical Feminist View:
Sigle-Rushton notes that working mothers are much more likely to divorce than women in relationships with a traditional division of labour. Women are actively using divorce to reject patriarchal oppression and exploitation.
Modernity and Individualisation
The Individualisation Thesis:
Late-modern sociologists like Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens (1992) argue that traditional social structures (such as duty to the family or church) have lost their grip on individuals.
The "Pure Relationship":
Giddens notes that intimacy today is built on a "pure relationship"—one that exists solely to meet each partner's emotional needs. The relationship stays together only as long as it works for both parties, making relationships structurally unstable and driving up "serial monogamy".
The Choice Culture:
Modernity forces people to construct their own identities and paths. If a marriage gets in the way of individual self-development, it is discarded.
The meaning of a high divorce rate
New Right:
View high divorce negatively as a sign of moral decline and social breakdown. They argue it creates an underclass of welfare-dependent lone-parent families and leaves boys without male role models.
Functionalists (Fletcher):
View high divorce optimistically. It does not mean marriage as an institution is failing; rather, it proves people hold it in higher regard. High re-marriage rates show people still value the institution itself.
Feminists:
View high divorce positively. It shows women are actively resisting patriarchal oppression, refusing to tolerate exploitation (like the dual burden), and utilizing their economic independence to leave unequal relationships.
Postmodernists & Individualisation Thesis (Beck & Giddens):
View high divorce as a neutral/inevitable reflection of modern life. The individualisation thesis means traditional norms no longer bind people. Couples seek a "pure relationship" for personal self-fulfilment and dissolve it the moment it stops meeting their emotional needs.
Interactionists (David Morgan):
Argue against broad structural generalizations. They emphasize that a high divorce rate means different things to different people. We must look at individual meanings: for one person, it is a devastating tragedy; for another, a liberating fresh start.
Personal Life Perspective (Carol Smart):
Accepts that divorce causes distress but argues it has become "normalised". Family life is flexible and simply adapts or reshapes (e.g., into binuclear families) rather than breaking down completely.