The Family in Question Changing Households and Familiar Ideologies [Hardcover]

After a decade of Thatcherism, rising illegitimacy and the moral panic over child sexual abuse, the family is more of a political issue than ever. But is it 'the family' that is in crisis, or family ideology? In this revised edition of an important and controversial book, Diana Gittins adds to a broad range of historical, anthropological and feminist evidence, a new chapter on child sexual abuse.Acknowledgements.- Editor's Introduction.- Introduction: Questioning the Family.- How Have Families Changed?.- Is Patriarchy Relevant in Understanding Families?.- What is the Family?.- Is it Universal?.- Why do People Marry?.- Why do People Have Children?.- Why is a Woman's Work Never Done?.- The State: Creator or Destroyer of Family Solidarity?.- Is the Family in a State of Crisis?.- Why Do Men Abuse Children Sexually?.- Notes.- Bibliography.- Index.DIANA GITTINS worked in higher education for ten years. She is the author of Fair Sex (Hutchinson, 1982) and a number of articles and essays on gender, families and childhood. She works as a consultant to the Open University and also writes poetry and fiction.