Product Description

`I would recommend the book to anyone with an interest in the family, whether their interest is in constructs of "old" family values and morals, or in the "new" alternatives, and (possibly from a political point of view), threatening family. It provides food for thought for members of all these groups' - Journal of Reproductive & Infant Psychology

`The essays explore the increasing diversity, both for the study of sociology and for the wider political agenda' - International Journal of Law and the Family

Concern and debate over changes to family life have increased in the last decade, as a result of evolving employment patterns, shifting gender relations and more openness about sexual orientation. Most politicians and researchers have viewed these changes as harmful, suggesting that the family as an institution should not alter.

The `New' Family? challenges these dominant views. Leading academics in the field consider current diverse practices in families, and reveal the lack of balance between policies based on how families should be and how they actually are, illustrating the need for a broader definition of family. This book shows the need to take fluidity and change in family arrangements seriously, rather than simply seeing change as dangerous and undesirable.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #416835 in Books
• Published on: 1998-12-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
`I would recommend the book to anyone with an interest in the family, whether their interest is in constructs of "old" family values and morals, or in the "new" alternatives, and (possibly from a political point of view), threatening family. It provides food for thought for members of all these groups' - Journal of Reproductive & Infant Psychology

`The essays explore the increasing diversity, both for the study of sociology and for the wider political agenda' - International Journal of Law and the Family

`...as an objective account of certain aspects of modern families, the authors succeed in challenging dominant views and reveal the lack of balance between policies based on how families should function as opposed to what they actually do' - Family Practice

About the Author
Elizabeth Silva and Carol Smart, both at the University of Leeds

Customer Reviews

A must for those studying social science
The book takes a look at more than one perspective of the family. It endevours to give a more balanced view of how we should percieve the family and shows how the different 'geographical imaginations' of writers put their own slant on the way the family should be shaped. A good book to set you thinking in more than one direction and enables you to paticipate in critical debates on a very topical and political issue.