In the Name of the Family: Rethinking Family Values in the Postmodern Age

Purchased this book for my college goer. He was very pleased with its good condition as if it were directly from a store shelf. Also, he got it pretty fast.

Stacey describes the changes in and the politics of "the family" in ways that are unsurpassed for their insight and clarity. The fact that this work comes from a particular political orientation is not something she tries to hide, and she persuasively argues, here and elsewhere, that the claim to pure objectivity in family-related research is dangerous. At the same time, she is remarkably balanced, recognizing that orientations toward the family do not neatly line up along the lines of political parties, religious affiliations, or social classes.

in clear, pithy language,the sociologist Judith Stacey explains why current Dan-Quayle-style "family values" moralizing is out of step with the more fluid family arrangements of our era. She shows the damage "pro-family" ideologues have done by devaluing single mothers, live-togethers, gay and lesbian parents -- denied custody, punitive welfare "reform," etc -- an eye-opener!