The University of Melbourne Social Studies Department

Abstract

This article seeks to explore, from a social justice perspective, as an issue of concern to social work, the manner in which the National Competition Policy has legitimated economic rationalism and its impact upon the community. It is argued under the influence of classical liberalism and economic rationalism, as reflected in the National Competition Policy, the value of individuals is being determined in terms of their contribution to the economy. In so doing notions of fairness, social justice and achieving community wellbeing through the promotion of equality, freedom and autonomy for individuals has been abandoned as governments increasingly allow market forces to structure social relations. Instrumental to the manner in which social relations are being restructured is the role of language which has enabled social justice concepts to be presented in terms of individualism.     

The Importance of Gifts in Marriage

In this article, a new element is introduced into the household production function: gifts. Gifts occur when spouses use their time and/or incomes to produce commodities that usually only have value to their spouse, such as empathy and understanding. The difficulty of identifying a potential mate's capacity to produce gifts prior to marriage and of negotiating for them during marriage is argued as having contributed to the increase in the divorce rate. Evidence is provided that women are the spouses most likely to seek a divorce and part of their motivation is an inadequate receipt of gifts during marriage.     

农村大龄未婚青年婚配困境研究

农村大龄青年婚配困境是农村婚姻变迁中的突出现象。农村婚姻变迁不仅体现在传统通婚圈向婚姻市场的外在转变,婚配方式、婚姻行为乃至婚姻观念都在发生快速而根本的转变。在男女性别比失调这一人口结构背景下,农村婚姻市场通过个体化的婚姻选择、婚姻竞争的物质转化、婚姻达成的家庭支持、婚姻市场结构失衡与社会排斥等运作机制,在结构与行动两方面形塑了农村大龄未婚青年的婚配困境。农村大龄未婚青年群体有进一步扩大的趋势,其婚配困境影响大龄未婚青年本体性价值和社会价值的实现,对农民家庭再生产有序进行以及社会稳定都造成不利影响,应当给予更多关注。     

The Role of Money Arguments in Marriage

Despite the paucity of empirical evidence indicating the impact of money arguments on spousal relationship outcomes, it is common belief that money plays a large role in the life of couples. This study used panel data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Study of Youth to examine how money-related arguments affect the marital relationship. Economic theory indicates that initial expectations about the marriage and variance in expectations are both important in predicting relationship satisfaction and divorce. Money arguments were modeled as a sign of the lack of investment in spousal-specific capital and were hypothesized to negatively impact relationship quality. Results suggest that money arguments are an important indicator of relationship satisfaction, but are not as influential in predicting divorce. Both the approach used to model money arguments and the empirical results can be used by marriage therapists and financial counselors to help couples understand and improve the benefits received through marriage.     

Same-Sex Marriage

Abstract

In this commentary, the legal ramifications and implications of the recent ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Court allowing same-sex marriages to occur in that state are examined. The author then suggests a hypothetical scenario for what the future might look like assuming that the Massachusetts decision is not overturned by adoption of a state constitutional amendment.     

Amhara Marriage: The Stability of Divorce*

Le mariage, le divorce et le remariage établissent des distinctions significatives de statut entre les laics et les clercs dans la société rurale Amhara. Les avantages socio-économiques ne peuvent pas rendre compte des différences dans le taux des divorces entre les deux groupes étant donné le fort degré d'homogénéité qui existe parmi ceux-ci. Les satisfactions psychologiques, les contraintes de même que les pressions semblent être comparables chez les laics et les clercs. Dans cet article, l'incidence du divorce n'est pas associéà la détérioration des liens maritaux individuels, mais à la façon dont on extériorise les justifications sociales sur lesquelles les mariages se fondent. Le divorce n'est pas vu ici comme une manifestation d'une guerre des hommes contre les femmes, mais comme un concomitant de l'intentionalité du mariage en tant qu'institution. Marriage, divorce, and remarriage delineate significant status distinctions between the clergy and laity of rural Amhara society. Socio-economic advantages of one group over the other cannot be held accountable for differential divorce rates between the two groups in view of the far-reaching homogeneity that encompasses both. Psychological gratifications, constraints, and pressures appear to be the same in clergy and in laity. In this paper, the incidence of divorce is related not to deterioration of individual marital bonds, but to the playing-out of the societal rationale upon which marriages are based. Divorce is here treated not as a manifestation of the war of men against women, but as a concomitant of the purposive institution of marriage itself.     

The Attitudes of Young People Towards Marriage:

This paper analyzes young people's attitudes toward marriage. The findings, drawn from the student population of Belgrade, were compiled in 1985. The answers analyzed here are to the question:What do you think about marriage in general and about marriage in our society? Since this is an open-ended question, the answers followed various lines and different frames of reference. The analysis, therefore, will be largely qualitative, rather than quantitative. In view of this, and given the fact that the sample was not representative, the findings suggest hypothesis to be tested by future research.     

The Political Is Psychoanalytic: On Same-Sex Marriage

Psychoanalysis should attend to same-sex marriage for two reasons: (1) Exclusion from marriage harms the mental health of same-sex couples and their children and (2) psychoanalysis is the science of irrationality, and the arguments about same-sex marriage are often highly irrational. The arguments against same-sex marriage, made by senior judges in the United States, are best understood by the von Domarus principle: If homosexuals are allowed to be married, and I am married, then I may be a homosexual. And if I make it impossible for homosexuals to marry, and I am married, then I will make it impossible for me to be a homosexual.     

Attitudes Toward Gay Marriage in States Undergoing Marriage Law Transformation

This study examines attitudes toward gay marriage within the context of concern over the weakening of heterosexual marriage. We use data from a three‐state survey conducted in 1998 – 2000 and designed to explore attitudes toward marriage and divorce reform (N = 976). We find that women, Whites, and younger persons are more approving of gay marriage than men, Blacks, and older persons. Nonparents with cohabitation experience are most approving, whereas parents with no cohabitation experience are most opposed. Heterosexual marriage preservation attitudes are key predictors, net of religiosity and political conservativism. We interpret these findings with theories about vested interest in upholding marriage as an institution and ambivalence resulting from conflicting core values of the sanctity of marriage versus the valorization of individualism.     

Debatable Marriages: Marriage and Child Marriage in Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

This article examines marriage and the constitution of familial relationships in Saudi Arabia, with a specific focus on one form of marriage that has recently become an issue of public, political, and religious discussion, that of “child marriage.” The situation within Saudi Arabia is compared with gendered relationships in other countries, most notably those in Western Europe, with specific attention given to the United Kingdom. It is argued that policy developments in Saudi Arabia need to be seen in the context of wider Saudi culture, Sharia law, and religious interpretations of the Koran.     

Korean Interracial Marriage

No abstract available for this article.     

婚恋现实主义:农村青年婚恋的表征、逻辑与实践

与"80后"的婚恋理想主义不同,当前农村青年出现了婚恋现实主义.他们谈情说爱却未必谈婚论嫁,注重物质条件更甚于双方感情,追求自我体验而不困于家庭生活.作为一种现代家庭组建方式,婚恋现实主义的逻辑在于将恋爱与婚姻相对分离,把物质作为婚恋的前提与保证.其中,感情是婚姻的前提,婚姻是恋爱的结果,物质条件是关联"恋"与"婚"的...     

Pornography and Marriage

We used data on 20,000 ever-married adults in the General Social Survey to examine the relationship between watching pornographic films and various measures of marital well-being. We found that adults who had watched an X-rated movie in the past year were more likely to be divorced, more likely to have had an extramarital affair, and less likely to report being happy with their marriage or happy overall. We also found that, for men, pornography use reduced the positive relationship between frequency of sex and happiness. Finally, we found that the negative relationship between pornography use and marital well-being has, if anything, grown stronger over time, during a period in which pornography has become both more explicit and more easily available.