Rewriting the Sexual Contract

by Dench,Geoff

• ISBN13: 9780765804662
• ISBN10: 0765804662
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1999-03-31
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This book brings together a wide selection of viewpoints on what is happening to relations between the sexes & the sexual division of labor in contemporary society. The contributors look at the ways in which gender relationships are changing, the consequences of these changes for family life & society generally, & the part the state should play in future developments. Rewriting the Sexual Contract encompasses the view of people with widely differing orientations, stretching across the moral & political spectrum. The contributors provide varied interpretations of what the recent sexual revolution means & where it may be leading us. The questions discussed include: Are the lifestyles of men & women converging or polarizing? Do men & women place the same value on family life? Do most mothers want to work full-time while their children are young? Are families strengthened by a sense of differentiation & interdependence between the sexes? Does social policy need to recognize sexual differences in order to maximize social equality? The contributors represent a wide range of viewpoints, but are all involved in analyzing & influencing public attitudes in this area.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Where we are Coming from

Beyond the sexual contract?

The best years of my life: trading sex for security

Family roles from the dawn to dusk of the New Elizabethan Era

Nearing full circle in the sexual revolution

The State we are in

Sex in the commodity culture

Was feminism wrong about the family?

Evaluating the effects on children of mothers' employment

The fragility of fatherhood

Fathers as mothers: lone parenting for men

Families after separation: equal careers and equal parenting

The Father from heaven

Patterns of change in gender-role attitudes

Sexual divisions and the distribution of work in the household

New ties to bind

Future Models and Options

Diversity and choice in the sexual contract: models for the 21st century

Promoting women's economic independence

The case for a Ministry of the Family

Putting families at the centre for women

The politics of the family

Declaration of peace between the genders

A manifesto for men

What do we need men for anyway?

The androgynous generation

Rebuilding the African-Caribbean family in Britain

Back to basics and the search for love

Notes

References

Contributors

Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.