Sociology-Divorce and Family Violence
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This society is one in which the idea of marriage and family remain strong
and many divorced people remarry. The modern stepfamily is much more
likely to be the result of at least one divorce and the challenges they face are
considerable. Diverging expectations about the role of parents, stepparents
and children are a typical challenge. The multitude of transitions faced by
children make their lives more difficult. There are also conflict between
custodial and noncustodial parents and stepparents. There are many times
when the responsibilities and the prerogatives of the stepparents are neither
clear nor codified in law. In addition, stepchildren are not sure about the
extent and legitimacy of the authority of the stepparent. Some of these
problems are solved by adoption but not all. As this family form becomes
increasingly common, the problem of cultural lag must be addressed in order
to ensure that children thrive in their new environments.
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Every culture has images of what constitutes the ideal. In this society, the
marriage vows include fidelity and a lifetime commitment. Every society also
has patterns of real behavior that do not match the ideal. There is always
some kind of conflict between the ideal, the proper, and real or smart”
patterns of behavior. One of these conflicts, where the ideal, in this case
(even the laws) which prohibited collusive divorce and the reality that there
were numerous collusive divorces where the partners found a way around
the law.
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These and many other historical developments have had profound impacts
upon the society and the family. In each case, there was “culture lag” which
means that the behaviors changed before the beliefs and values changed.
There were beliefs/values about what was proper and behaviors that did not
conform to these.
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•We have already discussed much of the impact of industrialization and
urbanization on the family. You see the increasing importance of the public-
private split. Housework became devalued and invisible and families were
separated by the demands of earning a living. The breadwinner role
becomes more important.
•World War I also separated families because many men were fighting.
Women often had to take on more responsibility for their families. However,
despite their absence, soldiers were still seen as breadwinners.
•The 1920’s have some things in common with the baby boom after World
War II. Traditional values were challenged by social change and women
became more “daring.”
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Many of the concerns about alcohol consumption which contributed to Prohibition were sentiments which had been expressed for a long time. Prohibition were sentiments which had been expressed for a long time.
•The public-private split associated with industrialization and urbanization contributed to the emergence of the urban “saloon.” Wives were concerned that many husbands were stopping by a saloon on their way home after work and “spending the rent money” on alcohol.
•In addition, alcohol abuse was contributing to the incidence and severity of domestic violence.
•With the waves of new immigrants, many of whom were bachelors, concerns about the undermining of traditional English/W.A.S.P. values and Prohibition was eventually passed. People like Henry Ford supported Prohibition because he saw alcohol consumption as threat to worker productivity.
•This legislation increased the contradictions between the ideal (no alcohol) and reality. Although poorer people actually drank more alcohol because it was more expensive, the wealthy and the middle class became involved in the underground “speakeasy/blind pig” scene. Ironically, this meant that women were more likely to go to these bars because they excitement and cost led people to see this kind of behavior as smart because of the status associated with it. Women actually drank more “out in public” during Prohibition than they had before. Organized crime also became much more powerful during that time.
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Challenges to the values and ideals of the day, including the increasing
influence of organized crime, eventually had a negative impact on unions
and the labor movement. For example, Henry Ford had originally been in
favor of Prohibition. However, when organized crime figures threatened his
family he backed off and he eventually even hired some of these people to
challenge the workers when they tried to unionize and/or gain improvements
in their pay and working conditions. The continuing decline of unions
contributed to the decline in real wages in this society. Across time,
increasing financial pressures were an important factor in the increasing
divorce rates.
•The Great Depression contributed to the repeal of Prohibition because it
was thought that this would increase the number of jobs. Women began to
work in bars and taverns in “legitimate” jobs. T
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•In reality, the repeal of Prohibition did not do much to improve the economy
but our entrance into World War II did. Women began to enter the
workplace in increasing numbers and, with the exception of the 1950’s, that
trend has continued until today. Increasing numbers of women in the
workplace has meant that the traditional “duties” of the breadwinner role
have been modified. Women were better able to make the decision to
divorce because they had jobs and men could more easily justify divorce
when their wives were employed.
•The 1950’s were a time of economic stability which made it possible for a
breadwinner to support their family on the one income. The divorce rate was
low and many families had quite a few children—the “baby boom.” This
bulge in the youth demographic eventually had far-reaching consequences
for the society and families.
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As baby boomers grew up, the size and significance of a youth culture
increased. The generation gap increased between parents and children.
They were the first media generation. With such great numbers and the
importance of media such as music and television increasing, they became
a visible force in the society. Social scientists point to the emergence of
mass marketing as a result of their increasing buying power. Many suggest
that the marketing of Woodstock was the beginning of the kind of mass
marketing to the young that continues today. In any case, the increasing
distance between young people and their parents led to even greater culture
lag and rebellion. The availability of effective birth control also increased the
distance between ideal values and real behavior. Rebellion and technology
combined to change courtship and family formation forever. And, the
increasing individualism and “youth centeredness” of the society also
increased the likelihood of divorce.
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Contemporary society continues to change at an ever more rapid pace. This change has presented even more challenges to the stability of the family.change has presented even more challenges to the stability of the family.
•Technological change has meant more changes in the ways in which people interact with each other. We can communicate across space and time and travel around much more readily. This means that we come into contact with many more people. This expands our choices for marriage partners but also increases the opportunities to be unfaithful to our spouses or to engage in behaviors that threaten the stability of the family including such things as substance abuse and gambling. The internet and cell phones have made it possible for people to meet and interact in new ways, etc. However, this increased capacity to communicate with others has also increased the likelihood of infidelity and divorce.
•In the print media there are “personals advertisements,” images of romantic love, the sexualization and objectification of women, sensationalizaton of events etc. Beauty standards and sexualization of women have dramatically increased the likelihood of infidelity and divorce. Radio and television reflect many of the same themes. We confuse lust and love and we strive for standards of ahink “basppearance that are essentially unattainable.
•The media has created a “celebrity culture” which has become a celebration of fame, regardless of the reason. (Think “balloon boy”, John and Kate, Paris Hilton, and the numerous stories about marital infidelity: John Edwards, Tiger Woods, etc.) Reality shows and controversial talk shows continuously discuss horrendous examples of couple and marital dsyfunction without discussing the societal causes. Are we becoming and “anything goes” society?)
•In fact, many of the images of the “good life” are more likely to be out of reach of families. (We discussed those trends last week.)
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