In defense of single-parent families
By: Nancy E. Dowd.
Publisher: New York University Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 200
Subjects: Single-parent families -- United States; Single mothers -- United States; Single fathers -- United States; Single parents -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- United States
Description: Nancy Dowd details the primal justifications for stigmatizing single-parent families, marshalling an impressive array of resources about single parents that portrays a very different picture of these families. She describes them in all their forms, with particular attention to the differential treatment given never-married and divorced single parents, and to the impact of gender, race, and class.

Emphasizing that all families face significant conflicts between work and family responsibilities - a conflict thrown in sharp relief in single-parent families - Dowd argues many two-parent families in fact function as single-parent care-giving households. The success or failure of families, she contends, has little to do with form. Many of the problems faced by single-parent families mirror problems faced by all families.

Illustrating the harmful impact of current laws concerning divorce, welfare, and employment, Dowd makes a powerful case for centering policy around the welfare and equality of all children. A thought-provoking examination of the stereotypes, realities, and possibilities of single-parent families, In Defense of Single-Parent Families asks us to consider the true purpose of a family.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-197) and index.
Table of contents: title: The stories of stigma : what we say about single-parent families; title: The realities : what we know about single-parent families. The poverty justification. The developmental justification. The morality justification. Implicit justifications : race and gender stories; title: Divorced single parents. The context of work and family. Family law. Employment law. Welfare. Conclusion : law, stigma, equality, and choice; title: Nonmarital single-parent families. The context : nonmarital single parents. Nonmarital families and the law; title: Single parents as positive role models. Black single mothers and their families. General characteristics of single-parent families; title: Policies for single-parent families. Lessons from where we are now. Elements of changed policy toward single-parent families; title: Legal strategies. Defining family. Family support.