This book goes to the heart of academic, political and popular
debates, as well as professional concerns, about the nature of
contemporary family life and parenting. Families are widely
discussed in western societies as breaking down or as radically
changing, with step-families in particular seen as evidence of such
trends. In one of the first British in-depth sociological research
studies for over two decades, this book provide evidence of
parents' and step-parents' own understandings and experiences of
their parenting in step-families.
It addresses questions such as: What does it mean to be a
family? Do people in step-families see themselves as making a
different kind of family? Is individual happiness in a couple
relationship prioritised at the expense of responsibilities towards
children? Can a step-parent ever be regarded as the same as a
biological mother or father? What do people in step-families do to
try to make step-family life work?
The book looks at how people create, understand and experience
their parenting and family lives. It reveals how these
understandings are rooted in a strong sense of moral
responsibility, but that what such responsibility constitutes
varies according to gender and social class. In particular, it
draws out key theoretical implications for understanding the nature
of morality, fairness and justice, and questions ideas about
individualisation and the democratisation of family life.
This book will be essential reading for those concerned with the
study of contemporary family lives, including sociologists, social
policy analysts, family therapists, professionals and
practitioners. It is also relevant to those interested in
contemporary morality and everyday experiences.
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