Social change and the state : the emergence of a benefit for unmarried mothers in New Zealand

Abstract

In 1973 the Labour government introduced a statutory benefit for unmarried mothers, separated and divorced women. It was called the Domestic Purposes Benefit (DPB). Although unmarried mothers were only one group covered by the benefit, constituting around 20% of the total recipients […] the granting of a benefit to these women in particular raises some interesting issues. For centuries unmarried mothers have been stigmatised, being perceived as a threat to the two parent family and traditional bans on sexual activity outside marriage. The granting of a beneift to these women would seem to point to significant changes in social attitudes, especially with regard to sex, marriage and the family.[…] All too often apparently humanitarian gestures seem to have ensured, remarkably well, the stability of capitalist society. But what about the benefit for unmarried mothers? If the introduction of the Domestic Purposes Benefit had any social effects at all they would appear to have been dysfunctional. By instituting a benefit the government gave public sanction to women bearing ex-nuptial children and raising them on their own, even though this practice did seem to threaten the universality of the married two parent family. While applauding the development of a benefit for unmarried mothers I could not understand why a government would introduce it. This problem is the central subject of the essay. [Extract from Introduction]