Vino Ambrose

1
Group 12

• Vino Ambrose
• Kalli Bennett
• Kate Larson
• Arien Telles
• Lindsay Starn

2
Marriage in a Culture of Divorce

• Marriage Culture to Divorce Culture
• In the 1970s, divorce overtook death as the
  primary means of marital dissolution

3
Marriage Culture

• A cluster of beliefs, symbols and practices,
  framed by material conditions that reinforce
  marriage and deter divorce
  
• Constituted by three beliefs that reflect a
  stance toward marriage and divorce
  
• Marrying is a given
• Marriage is forever
• Divorce is a last resort

4
Divorce Culture

• A set of symbols, beliefs and practices that
  anticipate and reinforce divorce and redefine
  marriage
  
• Encompasses three key beliefs
• Marrying is an option
• Marriage is contingent
• Divorce is a gateway
• Not just about more numbers representing divorce
  behaviors, but about emergence of alternative
  meanings

5
Gender Equality

• Expressed through two main and competing strains
  of thought
  
• Rights Equality equality that minimizes
  differences between the sexes and emphasizes
  individual rights
  
• Relational Equality equality understood as
  equity would have us revalue ideals and
  practices associated

6
The Challenge of Gender Equality

• Challenges status quo in marital meanings,
  changing power dynamics in marriage
  
• Rising divorce rates have often been blamed on
  women
  
• Women found to be more approving of divorce than
  men
  
• Women are the primary initiators of divorce
• Individualism does not mean the same thing to
  women and men
  
• Men putting self first remains a way to sustain
  male dominance in marriage
  
• Women putting self first is a way to counter
  male dominance in marriage
  

7
The 50s Stones Constructing Traditionalism

• Referred to parents and era when asked what
  encouraged them into marriage
  
• Marital monitoring was wives work and included
  kin work and emotional work
  
• Believed in the reciprocity beyond the give and
  take in any one moment of a marriage
  
• Many of the 50s spouses supported womens
  equality in the work place by the 1970s , but
  felt that in marriage there has to be a boss
  
• Male dominance and marriage culture are
  hard-wired for this generation. Relationships
  depended on wife monitoring the marriage and
  reconstructing herself for the husband

8
The 70s Turners Divorce Culture

• Characteristics of Divorce Culture
• Individualism
• Independence
• Communication
• Division of Labor
• Gender Ideology
• Decrease in traditional roles
• Increase in Equality

9

• Divorce anxiety and culture
• Divorce as a gateway
• New lease on life
• Means to marital endurance
• Hypothetical Divorce
• Marital Work Ethic
• Work at marriage to survive

10
The Death of Till Death Do Us Part The
Transformation of Pair-Bonding in the 20th Century

• Main Argument
• Death to Divorce

11

• 1400-1800
• Marriage ended because of death
• 1867-1985
• Divorce rate jumped from 10 to over 55

12

• Divorce rates vary by race
• Black .63
• Hispanic .52
• White .48

13

• Three factors contributed to the shift from death
  to divorce
  
• Increase in life span
• Shift in biopsychosocial roles of women
• Change in social values and legal policies

14
The evolution of human pair-bonding

• Capacity to stay married/divorce
• Inclination to divorce
• Religiousness
• Beliefs about marriage
• Happiness
• Family history
• Social context
• Projected damage
• Life-course Explanation
• Evolutionary Heritage

15
Impact of Death to Divorce Transition

• New pair-bonding patterns and alternative
  perspectives
  
• Traumatic emotional experience
• Feminist values
• Individual rights
• Heightened expectations for intimate relationships

16
Collective Deconstruction of Marriage

• Rate of divorce increased
• Rate of marriage decreased
• Rates of cohabitation without marriage and
  non-marital births increased

17
Implications

• Marital theory needs to become pair-bonding
  theory
  
• The existence and viability of a multiplicity of
  pair-bonding arrangements needs to be
  acknowledged and addressed
  
• Entering into any particular pair-bond structure
  entails a distinct and legitimate decision-making
  process
  
• Young adults, contemplating pair-bonding, need to
  be able to consider a variety of pair-bond
  options that fit their cultural beliefs, personal
  preferences, and relational goals
• Marriage should continue to be defined as the
  lifelong, monogamous pair-bond
  
• Marriage, s a life-long, monogamous committed
  relationship, should be available to all mentally
  competent adults who desire to enter into such a
  legal and formal relationship
• Co-parenting w/o marriage needs to be recognized
  as a legitimate and life-long, nonmonogamous
  pair-bond
  
• Cohabitation w/o children or marriage needs to be
  viewed not only as a legitimate end-state in
  itself, but also as a legitimate form of
  pre-marriage
• Divorce and relational dissolution need to be
  viewed and treated as normal social events in the
  life course of modern families
  
• The decision to divorce needs to be viewed with
  greater complexity, thoughtfulness, and
  neutrality
  

18
Discussion Questions

• Why have rising divorce rates consistently been
  blamed on women? Is this blame fair?
  
• Is gender equality really destabilizing in
  marriage?
  
• Hackstaff states that, historically, becoming a
  wife and becoming a husband have not meant the
  same thing. What then does it mean to become a
  wife and to become a husband?
• Can divorce, as Pinsof says, be a good thing,
  with positive outcomes, or is it always to be
  viewed negatively?
  
• Do you agree with Pittman, that most children of
  divorce survive, but do not recover?