Family Patterns, Gender Relations is a reader featuring a mix of classic and contemporary readings from Canada, the US, and the UK, designed to introduce second- and third-year sociology students to the key issues in family studies today.

This completely updated, second edition offers articles that together develop a systematic understanding of family. It focuses not only on the dynamics of childcare, sexuality, and daily cohabitation, but also on the way that these patterns are shaped by the larger social culture. While some of the readings examine cross-cultural and historical variations in family patterns, highlighting the social organization of things that otherwise seem "natural," the bulk of articles focus on the social relations of sexuality and intimacy, reproduction, parenting, and living together. Because these relations are typically gender relations, a concern with gender inequality is constant throughout the book. Compelling and insightful, this timely work synthesizes a broad range of approaches for all those interested in sociology of the family or women's studies.

This title was first published in 2000. The essays in this volume explore the changing nature of family and gender relations in contemporary Tanzania. Particular attention is paid to the social construction of marriage and to the interplay of family life and gender relations with economic processes and forms of work. Many of the papers are based upon recent ethnographic and survey research; others provide a much needed historical perspective upon the change in family patterns and upon the ways in which gender and family relations are shaped by, and in turn help to shape, wider social institutions and processes.

Family Patterns, Gender Relations is a reader featuring a mix of classic and contemporary readings from Canada, the US, and the UK, designed to introduce second- and third-year sociology students to the key issues in family studies today.

When couples make the journey through their first year of parenthood they confront the challenges of their new responsibilities with varying degrees of support and a range of personal resources. When Couples Become Parents examines the ways in which divisions based on gender both evolve and are challenged by heterosexual couples from late pregnancy through early parenthood. Following the experiences of forty heterosexual couples in various socio-economic positions, Bonnie Fox traces the intricate interplay of social and material resources in the negotiations that occur between partners, the resulting divisions of paid and unpaid work in their families, and the dynamics in their relationships. Exploring the diverse reactions of these women and men, When Couples Become Parents provides significant insights into the early stages of parenthood, the limitations of nuclear families, and the gender inequalities that often develop with parenthood.

Attempts to do justice to the complexity of contemporary families and to situate them in their economic, political, and cultural contexts. This book explores the ways in which family life is gendered and reflects on the work of maintaining family and kin relationships, especially as social and family power structures change over time.