SOCIOL 2U06 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Substance Abuse, Social Stigma, The Sociological Imagination
31 Oct 2013
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Lecture 4: introduction to the sociology of families. Individual experiences connected to a social context: about connecting our own personal issues to a larger, broader context. Divorce: why do people get divorced? (individual couples) Unrealistic expectations of a partner and/or a relationship. Legally it is easier to get a divorce now, changes in divorce legislation. Not as much a social stigma as it used to be. Easier for women with no connection to the labour force to leave a marriage. People living longer, therefore marriage is a longer commitment. Change in gender roles i. e. whether housework is shared or not shared can lead to conflict. Inadequate structural support places greater pressure on couples who seek individual level solutions to what is really a bigger structural problem. Option of pursuing same sex relationship or marriage, option of cohabiting, declining fertility, couples having fewer children, trend towards more voluntary childless couples.
