After a decade of Thatcherism, rising illegitimacy and the moral panic over child sexual abuse, the family is more of a political issue than ever. But is it ''the family'' that is in crisis, or family ideology? In this revised edition of an important and controversial book, Diana Gittins adds to a broad range of historical, anthropological and feminist evidence, a new chapter on child sexual abuse.

After a decade of Thatcherism, rising illegitimacy and the moral panic over child sexual abuse, the family is more of a political issue than ever. But is it ''the family'' that is in crisis, or family ideology? In this revised edition of an important and controversial book, Diana Gittins adds to a broad range of historical, anthropological and feminist evidence, a new chapter on child sexual abuse.