HW4.2

"Who is to blame for America's trend toward high divorce rates, starting in the 1970s?"

The middle-age men are responsible for America’s trend toward high divorce rate.

In the 1970s, it is clear that women are treated unequally throughout their lives in the society. As men had the opportunity to work freely, women are locked in the house, forced to be housewives.
As in previous eras young women would have married middle or lower-class men of roughly their own age and started families, they now became prey for the middle-age wealthy men with “Jennifer Fever” (Schweikart). And the whole situation trend toward high divorce rate.
Moreover, middle-age men tend to “use” the no-fault divorce in order to get away with their wives so they could marry young girls. Feminist had unwittingly given the middle-age men a remarkable gift, pushing as they had for the no-fault divorce. Due to that, middle-age women were abandoned by a lot of middle-age men which leads to the high divorce rate.
"Popular TV shows from the 1970s show that a 'woman's place' in society at that time meant change in divorce laws were needed." Edith, a character in “All in the Family”, was the "put-upon wife," often bemoaning her husband's behavior or comments (Wikipedia), which shows that middle-age men treated their wives anyway they desired, deservedly; middle-age men would marry a younger wife as they got bored with the old wife. For all, the divorce law is considered to be changed until it provides middle-age women a better advantage.