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

A collection of essays by Judith Stacey, a professor of sociology and women's studies at the University of California, Davis, that acknowledge concerns about the disintegration of the traditional family, while attacking the efforts of right-wing conservatives to reinstate the family of the 1950s through fear and advocacy of male dominance. Using studies of blue-collar, low-income families, single-mothers and gay and lesbian households, Stacey illustrates that far from being examples of failure or despair, these families are models of ingenuity and flexibility.