choice & quality : Giddens

• there's greater choice & equal relationships due to

  -contraception

  -women gaining independence as result of feminism and gender opportunities in education & work
• contraception


  -allowed sex & intimacy rather than reproduction to become the main reason for the relationship's existence
• basis of marriage and family has changed

  -traditional family relationships were held together by external forces

  -today couples are free to define relationships themselves