1
Q
What are the reasons for the increase in cohabitation?
A
- Decline in stigma attached to sex outside of marriage
- Young people are more likely to accept cohabitation
- Increased career opportunities for women
- Secularisation
2
Q
What does Andre Bejin say about trial marriages?
A
- Argues that cohabitation among young people represents a conscious attempt to create a more personally negotiated and equal relationships than convential patriarchal marriage
3
Q
What does Shelton and John say about trial marriages?
A
- Found that women who cohabit do less housework than their married counterparts
4
Q
What does Jefferey Weeks say about chosen families?
A
- Argues that increased social acceptance may explain a trend towards same sex cohabitation and stable relationships that resemble those found among heterosexuals
- Weeks sees gay people as as creating families based on the idea of ‘friendship and kinship’ where friendships become a type of kinship network - ‘chosen families’: they offer the same security and stability as heterosexual couples.
5
Q
What does Kath Weston say about chosen families?
A
- Describes same-sex cohabitation as ‘quasi marriage’ and notes that many gay couples are now deciding to cohabit as stable partners.
- She contrasts this with the stereotypical gay lifestyle of the 70’s which largely rejected monogamy and family life in favour of casual relationships.
6
Q
What does Allan and Crow say about chosen families?
A
- The illegal framework surrounding same sex relationships and civil partnerships has meant that same sex couples have had to negotiate their committments and responsibilities more than married couples
- Potentially making same sex couples more flexible and less stable than heterosexual couples
7
Q
What does Einasdottir say about chosen families?
A
- Notes that while many same sex ouples welcome the opportunity to have their partnerships legally recognised, others fear that it may limit flexibility and negotiability of relationships.
- She notes that they dont wish to adopt the ‘heterosexual norms’ and would rather their relationships be different.
8
Q
What are the trends in one person households?
A
- Number of people living alone in the UK increased by 16.1% between 1997 - 2017
9
Q
Reasons for changes in the trends of one person households
A
- Increase in separation and divorce
- Proportion of sing adults has risen by half since 1971 - many living alone
- A growing number of people are opting for ‘creatve singlehood’ - the deliberate chance to live alone.
- Widowed
10
Q
What does Simon Duncan and Miranda Philips say about living apart together?
A
- Research from British Social Attitudes found that 1 in 10 adults are living alone together - in a significant relationship but not married or cohabiting
- Found that the same couples who live apart together do so because they could not afford to live together, however a minority actively decided to live apart
- They concluded that while ‘LAT’ is no longer seen as abnormal, it probably does not amount to a rejection of more traditional relationships.
