ABSTRACT

A ground-breaking volume of all new essays covering the conjunction of two topics--feminism and families--that, for all their centrality in our culture, have not been adequately examined in light of one another. While the family has suffered feminist neglect, most women are in fact members of families, living their lives within the social context of families, even at a time when the concept of "family" has become bewilderingly unstable. The intersection of families and feminism is thus one in need of philosophical reflection, as a basis both for good public policy and for the ethical relationships of intimate life.

chapter |9 pages

Introduction

ByHilde Lindemann Nelson

part I|41 pages

Histories

chapter 1|14 pages

Families and Feminist Theory: Some Past and Present Issues

BySusan Moller Okin

chapter 2|15 pages

The Myth of the Traditional Family

ByLinda Nicholson

chapter 3|9 pages

“The Family” and Radical Family Theory

ByNaomi Zack

part II|49 pages

The Breakdown of the Family

chapter 4|13 pages

Are Families Out of Date?

ByMary Midgley, Judith Hughes

chapter 5|6 pages

Baby strike!

ByLaura M. Purdy

chapter 6|12 pages

Feminism by Any Other Name

ByMichele M. Moody-Adams

chapter 7|12 pages

Fluid Families: The Role of Children in Custody Arrangements

ByElise L.E. Robinson, Hilde Lindemann Nelson, James Lindemann Nelson

part III|25 pages

Intimate Knowings

part IV|41 pages

Who's In, Who's Out?

part V|31 pages

Families and Medicine

chapter 12|14 pages

Child Abuse and Neglect: Cross-Cultural Considerations

ByFrançoise Baylis, Jocelyn Downie

chapter 13|14 pages

Gays, Lesbians, and the Use of Alternate Reproductive Technologies

BySidney Callahan

part VI|50 pages

Images We Don't Need

chapter 14|16 pages

The Idea of Fatherhood

BySara Ruddick

chapter 15|14 pages

Sexuality, the Family, and Nationalism

ByBat-Ami Bar On

chapter 16|18 pages

The Family Romance: A Fin-de-Siècle Tragedy

ByDiana Tietjens Meyers