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The Social Contexts of Cohabitation

The Social Contexts of Cohabitation ARLENE SKOLNICK Recently, while visiting an Oxford college, I attended a rather formal luncheon at which most of the other participants were distin­ guished middle-aged legal authorities. The conversation turned to recent changes in laws dealing with the family and cohabitation. I was surprised to learn that the three gentlemen I was talking to were speaking of cohabitation from personal experience. Somehow, I had naively assumed that English legal circles were less socially advanced than those of Berkeley or Sweden. The incident illus­ trates the wide acceptance of a behavior patter n which was unheard of in respectable society only a few years ago. If some estimates are correct, a majority of the population in the future may cohabit at some point in their lives. The emergence of what used to be known as "living in sin" into middle class society is one of th e most striking aspects of the social and sexual revolution of th e past decade or so. Of course, men and women have lived together since time im­ memorial without benefit of legal marriage. In most times and places, marriages have been a matter of custom and religion, not of the state and its http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png American Journal of Comparative Law Oxford University Press

The Social Contexts of Cohabitation

Skolnick, Arlene
American Journal of Comparative Law , Volume 29 (2) – Apr 1, 1981
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References (12)

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Copyright
© 1981 by The American Association for the Comparative Study of Law, Inc.
ISSN
0002-919X
eISSN
2326-9197
DOI
10.2307/839624
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

ARLENE SKOLNICK Recently, while visiting an Oxford college, I attended a rather formal luncheon at which most of the other participants were distin­ guished middle-aged legal authorities. The conversation turned to recent changes in laws dealing with the family and cohabitation. I was surprised to learn that the three gentlemen I was talking to were speaking of cohabitation from personal experience. Somehow, I had naively assumed that English legal circles were less socially advanced than those of Berkeley or Sweden. The incident illus­ trates the wide acceptance of a behavior patter n which was unheard of in respectable society only a few years ago. If some estimates are correct, a majority of the population in the future may cohabit at some point in their lives. The emergence of what used to be known as "living in sin" into middle class society is one of th e most striking aspects of the social and sexual revolution of th e past decade or so. Of course, men and women have lived together since time im­ memorial without benefit of legal marriage. In most times and places, marriages have been a matter of custom and religion, not of the state and its

Journal

American Journal of Comparative Law – Oxford University Press

Published: Apr 1, 1981

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