More people are having civil ceremonies, although even they are decreasing just like marriage. Since the introduction of the law that allowed same-sex couples the right to have a civil partnership, there are more people having them. There is an increased social acceptance of same-sex couples. Same-sex couples have the same rights as married couples and cohabiting couples. Many same-sex couples want their relationship recognising and having a civil partnership enables this. However, civil ceremonies are also decreasing just like marriage because civil ceremonies have alos increased in price. If the same-sex couples are religious then they may be reluctant to marry because the church condemns same-sex marriage. This has led to an increase in the number of same-sex couples. Also, as the law which has allowed same-sex couples to adopt, there has being an increase in the number of same-sex families, this is possibly because of the reduced stigma surrounding same-sex couples.
Divorce has increased rapidly since 1969 due to a piece of legislation that granted divorce on the basis of “irretrievable breakdown” – the Divorce Reform Act of 1969. In addition, people were finally able to legally to end all connections, as previously when divorce was either too expensive or difficult to obtain, separation was very common, which was when a couple decided to live away from each other. An acceptable reason for this increasing trend of divorce is that it is no longer associated with stigma and shame. Britain’s culture was based upon Christian religion, and Christians believe that marriage is for life (‘till death do us part’). However, over years, changes in attitudes and secularisation have emerged, and the view that divorce can lead to greater happiness for the individual is more acceptable. Functionalist sociologists argue that high divorce rates are evidence that marriage is increasingly valued and that people are demanding higher standards from their partners. They believe that couples are no longer prepared to put up with unhappy, empty-shell marriages, as people want emotional and sexual compatibility and equality, as well as companionship.
Cohabitation involves an unmarried couple in a relationship living together. While the number of marriages has been falling, the number of couples cohabiting has been increasing. A reason for the increase in cohabitation is that people like to “test the water" before marriage. For example, according to Ernestine Coast (2006), 75% of cohabiting couples say they expect to marry each other. Many see cohabitation as a trial marriage and intend to marry if it goes well. Most cohabiting couples decide to marry if they have children. On the other hand, some couples see cohabitation as a permanent alternative to marriage. In some cases, cohabitation is a temporary phase before marriage because one or both partners are awaiting a divorce.
The number of births decreased. This decrease in the number of births can be explained for a number of reasons. After 1970 there was not as much need to have as many children because there were many changes that occured after the wars. Women now had the vote, they had the opportunities to get further education, more women were paid for employment and there was a change of attitude to the role of the women in the house, it was easier to get a divorce if the marriage was not working out and women after 1967 had the choice to have a child or if they wanted to abort the child. This gave women a lot more freedom and they had more rights to do what they wanted to in life, and so after this, for many women a family was not a high priority for them, many women wanted to work and establish themselves in a career, then settle down to have a family of a smaller size.
Another change in patterns of families is the increase of the number of lone-parent families. The increase in the number lone-parent families is linked to the increase in the number of divorces. This is linked to the decline in stigma attached to births outside marriage, and nowadays, there is much less stigma attached to staying single and some people do not want to commit themselves to something if they are not truly happy or if they prefer to be alone than with another person. Most of these families are headed by a lone mother. Lone-parent families tend to be female-headed for several reasons; the widespread belied that women are more suited to a nurturing role, and the fact that divorce courts usually give custody of children to mothers. Jean Renvoize in 1985, found that professional women were able to support their children without any involvement from the father. Feminist ideas and greater financial and welfare opportunities for women, may also have encouraged the increase in the number of lone mothers.
There has also been an increase in the number of one person households. Nowadays, there is no stigma attached to remaining single. This, therefore, allows people to opportunity to live alone, to better themselves in a career or remain in education for longer. One person households tend to be women in their twenties because they have chosen to remain single or marry later. the increase in separation and divorce has also created more one person households, especially among men under 65, this is becuase children generally live wiht the mother.
In conclusion, society’s values have been affected by a greater emphasis on lone parent families, same sex families and reconstituted families, as opposed to the traditional values which have had more of a role in the types of family in the past such as nuclear and extended families. There has been an increase in awareness of equality issues too, particularly with the rise of feminism, which have lead to changes in the law such as the legislation to increase ease of divorce for women, which has increased the diversity of families.
