Class in this case refers to the division of society based mainly upon economic inequalities. In modern society the groups mainly recognised are; the upper class, the middle class, the working class and the underclass. Divorce is in legal terms the dissolution or end of a marriage. Firstly we will examine the ways in which divorce is positively affected by class, then the reasons it is not will be addressed. Possible future trends in marriage, divorce and class will be looked at, and there will also be a brief explanation of how the different sociological perspectives relate to divorce.
A conclusion based upon the issues raised will end this essay. The ‘No Fault’ divorce laws that were passed in 1969, and came into affect in Britain in 1971, made divorce easier in law and these measures were further consolidated in 1996. These changes made a huge impact, leading to a big increase in the number of poor lower class people initiating divorce. ‘Legal Aid’ took care of the financial aspects and the law changes made the overall procedure easier. These conditions did not apply as much to the upper classes, who always had access to the financial and legal means needed to divorce regardless of these two changes.
Another factor was the growth of the ‘Welfare State’.Many lower class women trapped in unhappy marriages could see a way to support themselves and their children independently! . They no longer had to rely on a their husband bringing home a wage packet to survive. The rates of martial breakdown are certainly not spread evenly across the population.
There are various reasons for this, including greater economic pressure on those who are just starting their working lives, shotgun marriages, and the obvious fact that teenagers are often immature mentally and change their attitudes regularly. ” They are less likely to have the experience to select a compatible partner and less likely to be aware of the responsibilities that marriage entails”.
These high rates of divorce among teenage marriages are directly related to the issue of class because the lower classes marry far more frequently in their teens than the middle or upper classes.Also, Thornes and Collards 1979 found that of all marital separations, 600ccurred before the 10th year of marriage.
There is a relationship between particular occupations and high divorce rates. Jobs that require frequent separation of the worker from their spouse mean a high level of physical involvement and time away from the relationship, which can create difficulties.Lower class people in work often have to put in many hours on a low rate of pay to make their financial ends meet. They come home tired and irritable, and may take their problems out on their spouses, again becoming more vulnerable to marriage breakdown than the upper class professionals, who are generally, if not always, on good rates of pay and have regular and standardised 37 hour working weeks.
Exceptions to this are junior doctors, some city high flyers and high power business leaders, who do spend a lot of time away from home.But even here the fact that they have the income levels to be able to afford regular holidays and expensive home comforts alleviates some domestic tensions. Also, after studying various Sociological works from Giddens, Haralambos, Cooper and others, the evidence seems clear that partners from different classes, and also ethnic groups, are particularly likely to divorce. Factors where class does not seem to be an ingredient include birth control, which is fully legal and freely available on the National Health Service.
Couples can now more easily control pregnancy through contraception, and abortion is also available, although with restrictions. Not having, or reducing the number of children a married couple produce, makes splitting up a less complicated and worrying business. The high urbanisation of British society plays a clear role in divorce. Nationally, and indeed internationally, there is a higher rate of separation and divorce among town and city dwellers compared to those living in rural and suburban communities.
This country is very high in population density, thus urbanisation is self-evidently a big factor in marriage breakdown.Increased geographical and social mobility is an element of modern society largely unaffected by class. Most people today, even those living on state benefits have cars, and there is generally more likelihood of people travelling, working and socialising away from their neighbourhoods. This mobility means that we are meeting a wide range of people, some of whom may be potential romantic/sexual partners.
Also, we become exposed to thoughts and ideas of all kinds. Some of which may impact directly on our existing relationships, and can affect our beliefs about marriage and divorce.Women in our industrialised society are becoming increasingly financially and intellectually independent. This places strain on men who hold to traditional attitudes, the roles that their fathers may have undertaken in the family are becoming obsolete.
Modern women often demand that husbands now undertake a large part of household chores and childcare, which can cause friction. If the wife herself can earn a comparative wage to her husband then the divorce may not lead to a drop in her standard of living. In the future marriage and divorce may not be as significant and or as common as they are today. There is a definite trend amongst young people to cohabit rather than marry, and although many of these co-habitees do eventually marry, the numbers doing so are decreasing, there is less marriage thus less divorce.To balance this it has to be said that many ethnic and religious groups still hold quite strict principles over marriage and divorce, and they continue a traditional pattern of behaviour. In non-traditional people too, there might be some moves back to older marriage/divorce morality because of fears such as aids.
Another fact to consider is whether the current pattern of re-marriage will continue. At present 750f women and 850f men remarry within 3 years of their divorce. Although “The chances of remarriage reduce with age”.
The change in class patterns, and indeed definitions, is also relevant to the question. Ongoing improvements in employment, housing and education may lead in future to the vast majority of people in Britain living a financially secure life, with only a small ‘Underclass’ left behind. This seems a very optimistic view though.”Quite often the controversies surrounding class are not about whether a gap exists but whether the gap is closing or not. This is especially true of debates about trends in income and wealth.
The relevant social perspectives on divorce need to be examined: Functionalists explain divorce as the direct result of high marriage expectations. Also, they distinguish the failure of an individual marriage from the overall threat to the institution itself. Marxists and Feminists make the following assumptions: Capitalism is exploitative. Within the family women wives are exploited.
Therefore capitalism and the family reinforce each other in a destructive way. From this we could take the view that divorce is actually a good thing.Symbolic Interactionalists state that as with all things in life, our behavioural patterns regarding class, marriage and divorce are learned. Phenomenologists believe broadly that we make up life as we go along and react to different events in an individual fashion.
Class patterns would not seem to be relevant to them, each marital partner would seek or not seek to divorce by reacting according to their own unique situation, so the issue ! of class would become an irrelevance in the divorce question. After looking at all the above information, the weight of evidence suggests that there is a link between divorce and social class.Poverty is closely related to divorce, and divorces have become less expensive and more accessible, this has lead to a high level of marriage failure among the lower classes. There is also a clear link between particular occupations and high divorce rates.
The other main factors, which might determine a link, include the problems induced by different classes marrying and the fact that young working class people who marry as teenagers have a very high rate of divorce. The only conclusion that can be made after analysing statistical data is that there is a definite link between divorce and class.
