Encyclopedia of Sociology

ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES

has been exaggerated. The majority of gay men,
just like lesbians, are interested in monogamous,
long-term relationships. The lack of institutional
support for gay and lesbian relationships and the
wide variety of obstacles not encountered among
heterosexuals, such as prejudice and discriminato-
ry behavior, take their toll on these relationships,
however.

The AIDS epidemic has had an enormous
impact on the gay subculture. While the impact on
lesbians is significantly less, they have not been
untouched by the social impact of the devastating
medical issue, despite the slow response of the
world’s governments.

DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE

Throughout most of history in America, the pri-
mary reason that marriages ended was because of
death. In 1970, the trends were reversed, and for
the first time in our nation’s history, more mar-
riages ended by divorce than by death (Cherlin
1992). The United States now has the highest rate
of divorce in the world, at approximately 20 di-
vorces per 1,000 married women aged fifteen and
over in the population (U.S. Bureau of the Census
1998). This is twice as high as the divorce rate
found in Canada, four times that of Japan, and ten
times as high as Italy. But, it’s important to note
that the divorce rate has actually leveled off, or
even declined somewhat in the United States after
peaking in the early 1980s.

Who divorces? Research has shown that those
at greatest risk for divorcing are people who marry
young, especially after only a brief dating period;
those who have lower incomes, although very high-
earning women are also more likely to divorce;
African Americans, who are about 25 percent
more likely to divorce than whites; people who
have been divorced before or whose parents di-
vorced; and those who are not religious or claim
no religious affiliation. The likelihood of divorce is
particularly high among couples who marry in
their teens because of an unplanned pregnancy.
Women are almost twice as likely as men to peti-
tion for divorces, reflecting the fact that women
are more often dissatisfied with their marriages
than are men.

There are a variety of reasons why the rate of
divorce has increased so dramatically in many

Western nations during the twentieth century: (1)

there is increasing emphasis on individualism and

individual happiness over the happiness of the

group—or a spouse and children; (2) divorce is

more socially acceptable and less stigmatized than

in the past; (3) divorce is easier to obtain, as ‘‘fault’’

is generally no longer required; (4) women are less

financially dependent on men, on average, and

therefore can end an unhappy marriage more

easily; (5) there is an increase in the number of

adult children who grew up in divorced house-

holds, who are more likely to see divorce as a

mechanism to end an unhappy marriage; and (6)

today’s marriages experience increased stress, with

outside work consuming the time and energy peo-

ple used to devote to their marriages and families.

One of the consequences of divorce is that

many children will live at least a portion of their

lives in single-parent households. Single-parent

households are becoming increasingly normative,

with approximately half of all children under age

eighteen spending some portion of their lives

living with only one parent, usually their mother.

Single-parent households are more likely to be

poor and often lack the social capital available in

two-parent households, and consequently place

the child at greater risk for a variety of negative

social and health outcomes. Commonly the absen-

tee parent does not pay the child support that is

due, and fails to see the children with regularity.

Although divorce has become common in

many industrialized nations, it would be incorrect

to assume that this represents a rejection of mar-

riage. Four out of five people who divorce remar-

ry, most often within five years. Men are more

likely to remarry than are women. This difference

is due to the greater likelihood that children will be

living with their mothers full-time, rather than

their fathers; the cultural pattern of men marrying

younger women; and the fact that there are fewer

men than women in the population in general.

Remarriage often creates ‘‘blended families’’

composed of stepparents and possibly stepsiblings.

It is estimated that approximately one-third of all

children will live with a stepparent for at least one

year prior to reaching age eighteen. Despite the

increasing commonality of this type of family, it

has been referred to as an ‘‘incomplete institu-

tion’’ because the social expectations are less clear