Iulian Apostu

University of Bucharest, Department of Sociology and Social Work (Department of Sociology and Social Work), Faculty Member

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Cornelia Rada

"Francisc I. Rainer” Anthropology Institute of the Romanian Academy

Mihaela Gotea

Transylvania University of Brasov

José G. Vargas-hernandez

luiza marinescu

Sorana Saveanu

University of Oradea

Antoaneta-Ancuta Brasoveanu

University of Vlora

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Papers by Iulian Apostu

FEMININE RESOURCES OF POWER Theoretical Articles

Most marital couples from nowadays profess to have modern relationships where the distribution of... more Most marital couples from nowadays profess to have modern relationships where the distribution of roles, the gender relations and the method of enhancing functions is egalitarian, however, the overall inequities between partners are still visible. At the other extreme, there is a category of couples who strategically negotiate their distribution of power to each gender in accordance with the resources they hold. Thus, in a constant process of grabbing the other, each partner is building a set of resources enabling the domination of other. The study aims to analyze the resources through which the contemporary women organize and promote power resources to dominate within their marital relationship. The research is performed through the qualitative analysis based on sociological survey and the instrument used is the semi-structured interview, applied to both women and their partners.

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Consensual Union in Romania–on the Transition of Social Mentalities and Legal Postmodernism

The current evolution of the Romanian marital mentalities generally underlies mentalities about t... more The current evolution of the Romanian marital mentalities generally underlies mentalities about to be
adapted to be more modern. Under these circumstances, new conjugal mentalities arise in which social
imperatives gradually become less influential, the couple grows increasingly free and independent of the
extended family, and consensual cohabitation tends to become one of the basic prerequisites for the partners to
know each other better, to socialize and create the first elements of marital solidarity while the couple is taking
further steps towards marriage. Often taken for consensual union, cohabitation has been, culturally speaking,
acknowledged as a state which renders two partners’ living together prior to their marriage lawful from a social
point of view (a state of fact questioned by the traditional cultural system which is still nurturing the current
social mentalities, yet more discretely).
From the opposite perspective, the legal system has built up the landmarks for some marital mentalities
with postmodern orientations, Law no. 202/2010 and Law no. 71/2011 setting legal frameworks regulating the
engagement, which create new dissolution rules and a series of patrimonial strategies attempting to put marriage
on more contractual bases. Marriage therefore tends to gradually assimilate the awareness of failure in the same
time as the declaration of eternal love, given that the decision to get married is backed by the strategy of
patrimonial regimes establishing the way assets are to be distributed in case that marriage comes to an end. The
current marital legislation leaves room for the mentalities of postmodern individualism, thus creating a premise
for legalizing consensual unions.
Our study aims at analyzing the Romanian social mentalities, various international experiences related
to the legalization of consensual unions, as well as the Romanian legislation in force and new proposals to make
domestic partnerships lawful, while proving the effects of inconsistency between the values of social and the
legal systems, bearing important consequences on both the social policies and the economic resources.

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Infidelity – the Imorality of the Other

Although having different conceptual meanings, the sociologist see the contemporary individualism... more Although having different conceptual meanings, the sociologist see the contemporary individualism as being a consequence of the crisis of social connections. The level of fusion between the partners decreases and the solidarity also asks for its right to reconceptualization because the fusion between the partners is more and more influenced by the individual values and advantages, rather than those of the conjugal group. In this context, even the claim of fidelity requires to be re-analysed. The ethics of fidelity seems to be more about the claim of the other's minimum morality, while the personal escapades appear as simple, inherent experiences. The study aims to analyse the motivations for infidelity, identifying, at the same time, the other's personal opinions on infidelity. Therefore, we start from the premise that modernity today is more concentrated on the individual, and this orientation creates a model of society based on the triad autonomyauthenticity -individuality (Sandu, 2015, p. 59). In this regard, the social norm matters only in placing the other within the moral parameters of social ethics, while own morality doesn't wish to be subject to social control, nor private laws (Dubar, 2001).

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The Traditionalism of the Modern Family – Social and Legal Direction and Contradiction

The current conjugal mentality in Romania reflects a kind of atypical modernity – a modernity of ... more The current conjugal mentality in Romania reflects a kind of atypical modernity – a modernity of declarations regarding the status, marital roles and functions of the family, but, at the same time, there is a kind of traditionalism regarding concrete facts. According to the latest social studies, about 40% of Romanians declare themselves to be traditional, in some way or another. Although the majority of couples talk in egalitarian terms about sharing conjugal roles and gender equality (in phrases that are most often stereotypical), the actual situations reveal a distribution of roles based on gender as well as social inequality. Another dimension that shows the same contradiction in terms of values is represented by the problem of conjugal independence expressed through the need for an alternative emotional association to the institution of marriage (i.e. consensual union) and through the need for more relaxed divorce legislation to make separation easier. Thus, divorce by agreement was introduced in Romania in 1993, Art. 305 of the Penal Code (on penal sanctions for proven infidelity) was revoked in 2006, and divorce before a notary public or a civil status registrar was legalized and introduced in 2010. As a consequence, we would have expected an increase in the divorce rate in Romania. However, the rate of marital dissolution remained low (between 1.5‰ – 1.7‰), Romania being among the countries with the lowest divorce rates in Europe. On the same note, statistical data shows that 5.7% of people are in favour of cohabitation; the social legitimacy of this phenomenon seems even stronger, although proposed drafts for a national law legalising cohabitation stirred strong reactions which paradoxically contest precisely this previously affirmed legitimacy. The study aims to explain these cultural and legal problems in terms of common direction and contradiction. From the methodological point of view, the study relies on analysis of official documents from divorce files, secondary analysis of national social studies, comparative analysis of the proposed national draft legislation for the legalization of cohabitation and equivalent international legislation.

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CONSENSUAL UNION IN ROMANIA LEGALIZATION, VALUE, CONFLICT AND CONSEQUENCES

The overall objective of the study aims at analyzing the degree of consistency/ inconsistency bet... more The overall objective of the study aims at analyzing the degree of consistency/ inconsistency between the Romanian mentalities about life partnership and the international ones. Scientific data obtained from research show that Romanians confuse premarital status with consensual union (which is an alternative to marriage and not a mere cohabitation), and that is why the claim for legalization as being a national reality supported by values of up to 5.7 % is based on a statistical error.

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