Evaluate the claim that marriage and family is detraditionalised
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Course
Families and Households: SOC20041 (SOC20041)
Institution
Keele University (KU)
This essay will discuss multiple aspects of how family and marriage have become detraditionalised. Firstly, by discussing the meaning of family and marriage in the past and comparing it to how and what family and marriage are today. I will then proceed to examine various dimensions including the tr...
marriage as it transformed a socially binding institution to a product and construct of the
individuals involved. Individualisation also impacts the detraditionalization of family, as it
changes the pre-written gender roles within a family (Chambers and Gracia, 2021).
The postponement of marriage also contributes to the detraditionalization of the marriage
institution. The deinstitutionalisation theory argues that the institution of marriage is
declining due the ‘weakening of social norms’ surrounding marriage (Cherlin, 2004:848).
This also links in with individualisation theory, as deinstitutionalisation theory argues the
move from institutional marriage to companionate marriage (Cherlin, 2004). Companionate
marriage is the transition to individualised marriage. According to Cherlin (2004)
individualised marriage refers to a marriage that is based on affection, personal choice, and
happiness (Cherlin, 2004). Thus, it can be argued that marriage is detraditionalised not only
due to the weakening of social norms but also due to individualisation in the context of
marriage. The postponement of marriage contributes significantly to the detraditionalization
of the family by challenging traditional timelines and expectations associated with marriage.
Cohabitation instead of marriage can be argued to contribute to the postponement of
marriage. There has been a rapid rise in couples cohabitating, of which only 60% of couples
who cohabitate end up getting married (Bumpass, 1989). Furthermore, evidence also suggests
that cohabitating couples aged 16-29 make up 69% of couples cohabitating. Whereas only
4% of those aged 70 years and over living in a couple were cohabiting (Sharfman, 2019). In
addition, cohabitation also impacts the traditional meaning of family as there is no
formalisation of the relationship between couples. These results could be due to the changing
nature and values of marriage and family. As well as the overall changing social attitudes
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