DIANA GITTINS worked in higher education for ten years. She is the author of Fair Sex (Hutchinson, 1982) and a number of articles and essays on gender, families and childhood. She works as a consultant to the Open University and also writes poetry and fiction.

• AcknowledgementsEditor's IntroductionIntroduction: Questioning the FamilyHow Have Families Changed?Is Patriarchy Relevant in Understanding Families?What is the Family?Is it Universal?Why do People Marry?Why do People Have Children?Why is a Woman's Work Never Done?The State: Creator or Destroyer of Family Solidarity?Is the Family in a State of Crisis?Why Do Men Abuse Children Sexually?NotesBibliographyIndex.

DIANA GITTINS worked in higher education for ten years. She is the author of Fair Sex (Hutchinson, 1982) and a number of articles and essays on gender, families and childhood. She works as a consultant to the Open University and also writes poetry and fiction.

• AcknowledgementsEditor's IntroductionIntroduction: Questioning the FamilyHow Have Families Changed?Is Patriarchy Relevant in Understanding Families?What is the Family?Is it Universal?Why do People Marry?Why do People Have Children?Why is a Woman's Work Never Done?The State: Creator or Destroyer of Family Solidarity?Is the Family in a State of Crisis?Why Do Men Abuse Children Sexually?NotesBibliographyIndex.