Riassunto esame Lingua e cultura inglese I, Prof. Rossi Mario, libro consigliato British cultural identities, Mike Storry, Peter Childs

are affected by social attitudes and cultural activities.

THE FAMILY UNIT

The British fertility rate declining since the post-war, couples do not have children and those that do, have small families. This is attributed to female education and contraception, most of women work before and after having children. Moreover, marriage is less popular than at any previous time in British history continuing a downward trend. However, the number of single parent families, childbirth out of marriage, mothers aged under 20 and girls under 16 who has an abortion have risen. It has been registered a decline in traditional family units, the liberalisation of the divorce and the possibility of female economic independence has make divorce a valid option for unhappy couples. Ethnicity is an important factor because the conventional family unit is important in minority groups. In any case, many political parties promote the two-parent family: the Labour government also established the Institute of Family.

Parenting that influenced policy decision on family welfare and childcare provision.

Normal family unit vary according to contemporary cultural practices and social concerns; women's participation in public generates fears about the collapse of the family. Since Victorian period the royal family has been symbolizing the ideal of British family unit, even today the Queen is considered "the mother of the commonwealth", so given this weight of expectation it's not surprising that the institution of family seems always to be in crisis.

GENDER AND BRITISH INSTITUTIONS

Many traditional British institutions remain male-dominated such as political and legal system and the Church of England. For aspiring female members of Westminster, its macho culture is a little problem compared with that of getting elected; the best chance of getting elected, in fact, is less likely to be a woman even if there are exception such as Margaret Thatcher, prime minister, or Betty Boothroyd.

arbiter of Commons debate.The Labour Party has the strongest commitment to feminist politics but the largest share of female votes goes to the Conservative Party. The British legal system is one of the most traditionalist institutions, often accused of gender bias about sentences and professional opportunities, women are less likely to reach the top of their legal profession. Moreover British judges have been accused of lettings rapists off blaming female victims; women, in fact, feel anxious that they and not their attacker will be made culpable for the crime. Another problem is domestic violence. In 1992 the Church of England approved the ordination of women priests, demanded for the first time in the late nineteenth century. So it was created the order of "deaconess" which, however, can't preside every single ritual.

WOMEN AND EMPLOYMENT

Many people fear that the entrance of women participation in labour force will deteriorate family unit. Women's paid employments is

Discrimination Act women are still earning less than men. Women are more likely to be discriminated against and tend to occupy unskilled areas of work: nursing, for example, is viewed as an extension of a woman's natural caring role. In spite of everything, working women continue to do the major share of housework because traditional roles are hard to change. Obviously, levels of unemployment within ethnic groups are greater than among white. British advertising and television now represent women in a wider spectrum of roles and, maybe, as a result, young ladies have greater expectations than before but they are still far from equality with men.

MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE

Prior to the implementation of the 1969 Divorce Reform Act, a legal separation required a guilty party. The person who committed adultery had to provide evidence that an affair had taken place. However, divorce was expensive and a lot of people argued for stricter divorce laws. In the early 1990s, the Conservative government understood

This people's necessity and launched a 'moral crusade' known as 'back to basics' campaign. This initiative didn't last a lot because of sex scandals that involved prominent MPs and now the phrase 'back to basics' is related to sexual hypocrisy and corruption. The new Labour government abolished tax breaks for married couples and the current Conservative-led coalition government is reintroducing financial incentives to stay married. There are those who uphold that divorced people are sometimes selfish, putting their needs above those of their children, but many think that it is unfair to force miserable couples to stay together. However, people continue to marry because they think that their expectations of marriage are different from those of their parents. Until the late nineteenth century British women needed proof of adultery plus deserti