The Unfinished Revolution: Coming Of Age In A New Era Of Gender, Work, And Family,New

In The Controversial Public Debate Over Modern American Families, The Vast Changes In Family Lifethe Rise Of Single, Twopaycheck, And Samesex Parentshave Often Been Blamed For Declining Morality And Unhappy Children. Drawing Upon Pioneering Research With The Children Of The Gender Revolution, Kathleen Gerson Reveals That It Is Not A Lack Of 'Family Values,' But Rigid Social And Economic Forces That Make It Difficult To Have A Vibrant And Committed Family And Work Life.Despite The Entrance Of Women Into The Workforce And The Blurring Of Once Clearly Defined Gender Boundaries, Men And Women Live In A World Where The Demands Of Balancing Parenting And Work, Autonomy And Commitment, Time And Money Are Left Largely Unresolved. Gerson Finds That While An Overwhelming Majority Of Young Men And Women See An Egalitarian Balance Within Committed Relationships As The Ideal, Today'S Social And Economic Realities Remain Based On Conventionaland Now Obsoletedistinctions Between Breadwinning And Caretaking. In This Equity Vacuum, Men And Women Develop Conflicting Strategies, With Women Stressing Selfreliance And Men Seeking A New Traditionalism.With Compassion For All Perspectives, Gerson Argues That Whether One Decides To Give In To Traditionally Imbalanced Relationships Or To Avoid Marriage Altogether, These Approaches Are Secondbest Responses, Not Personal Preferences Or Inherent Attributes, And They Will Shift If New Options Can Be Created To Help People Achieve Their Egalitarian Aspirations. The Unfinished Revolution Offers Clear Recommendations For The Kinds Of Workplace And Community Changes That Would Best Bring About A More Egalitarian Family Lifea New Flexibility At Work And At Home That Benefits Families, Encourages A Thriving Economy, And Helps Women And Men Integrate Love And Work.Praise For The Hardcover:'Over The Past Three Decades, Social Change Has Blown Apart The Oldfashioned Ideal Of The Nuclear Familyand Gerson Has Set Out To Map Where The Pieces Have Landed.'New York Post'Valuable For The Abundance And Candor Of The Testimony From This Unmoored Generation Pioneering Through Radically Altered Conceptions Of Personal And Professional Life.'Publishers Weekly'This Is Not A Battle That Can Be Won With Legal Challenges Or Legislation. Yes, It Would Undoubtedly Be Greatly Aided By The Passage Of Major Social Policies Such As Universal Child Care. But At Its Core, This Is A Fight That Plays Out Within Homes And Between Partners. And As Gerson'S Research Makes Clear, The Fight Has Not Changed All That Dramatically In The Past 30 Years.' The American Prospect