Several media outlets have highlighted that couples and families'' separations have increased. You probably know someone who has separated in these months of confinement. Why does this happen?
People have had to reconfigure paid and unpaid work to carry out their jobs in a domestic setting. The impact has been individually and collectively. It has affected all people, whether they are with a partner or not, live with their family or live alone.
What is happening to couples and families that are separating?
The conceptualization of the constitution of couple and family has changed through time. Nowadays, we talk about a couple because it can be a woman or a man, which was unthinkable, at least publicly before the seventies. Sometimes, it depended on where you live, you could still refer to a couple, but you had to say "my boyfriend, my husband, my girlfriend, or my wife."
RECONFIGURATION IN COUPLES AND FAMILIES
Confinement has brought a reconfiguration in couples and families since there are a lengthier cohabit bringing several consequences.
There are couples with or without children that only saw each other in the morning, at night and on weekends. As they spent more time at home, they decided to separate because they were not compatible or realized that they were spending little time together. Others who had family chose to establish agreements to distribute the tasks and continue sharing life; others lost their job, considered cutting expenses to stay together, or did not endure the crisis and decided to separate. Some couples returned to their parents'' home, together or separately, because of the economy. Others who did not live together were separated because of the difficulties of seeing each other or because their interests were no longer compatible. When they needed care, one person or another decided that singleness, distance, was better.
Thus there are many examples of separations. There is also an effort to continue sharing life as a couple or family. Maybe we have to prioritize empathy, care, agreements, affection to stay with the couple, with the family? Do we prefer to be alone during this confinement for fear of being with the ones we love?
(Photo: Pixabay)
Being in a community, as a family, as a couple or alone, can be an option that has to be valued. We are still experiencing this health contingency, and we do not know when it will end. It might be better to be accompanied than alone to share the needs, concerns, expenses, care, daily life, life.
Currently a teacher at UNAM. She did her postdoctoral stay at CEDUA-COLMEX. Her research lines are gender perspective, public policies, time managment, social co-responsibility, daily life and care work, family diversity and sexual diversity, and new experiences of being men (masculinities).
Traducción: Valentina K.Yanes