Geoff Dench - Böcker

Using the storyThe Frog Princeas a symbol of traditional awareness of the potential marginality of men in society,Transforming Menproposes that much of patriarchy is a theatrical illusion. Presenting men as more important and powerful than they really are should be seen as a way of controlling them, rather than as a system for dominating women. The author believes that both men and women need to feel that other people are dependent on them.Dench states that women acquire a sense of responsibility through the direct dependence of children, but most men can only come to experience responsibility via women. If women reject the male breadwinning role, then men will never develop the altruistic incentive. Dench urges that men need to be given a greater stake than women in the public realm in order to be the main family providers and become caring members of society. Dispensing with male privileges and formal positions, the author continues, will simply reveal and revive older and deeper problems, to which patriarchy itself was a historical and sociological solution.Dench does not deny the possibility that if men did behave as feminists have asked or expected, then certainly we would be living in a far better world. However, he asserts that it is too simple to just blame men for the fact that this has not happened; perhaps the real failure lies in feminist approaches and theories. Thus, Dench persuasively argues that feminism may be making the male problem worse, not better by insisting on everything from absolute parity to role reversal.Transforming Mencontains examples of many different feminist viewpoints, including those of Margaret Mead, Betty Friedan, and Camille Paglia. It also uses contemporary cultural instances, such as popular movies, television shows, and books, to emphasize its points. This volume presents an intriguing argument regarding feminism versus a patriarchal society. It will provide stimulating reading for all those interested in the feminist debate.

This book brings together a wide selection of viewpoints on what is happening to relations between the sexes and the sexual division of labor in contemporary society. The contributors look at the ways in which gender relationships are changing, the consequences of these changes for family life and society generally, and the part the state should play in future developments. Rewriting the Sexual Contract encompasses the views of people with widely differing orientations, stretching across the moral and political spectrum. The contributors provide varied interpretations of what the recent sexual revolution means and where it may be leading us. The questions discussed include: Are the life-styles of men and women converging or polarizing? Do men and women place the same value on family life? Do most mothers want to work full-time while their children are young? Are families strengthened by a sense of differentiation and interdependence between the sexes? Does social policy need to recognize sexual differences in order to maximize social equality?The contributors represent a wide range of viewpoints, but are all involved in analyzing and influencing public attitudes in this area. They include Carole Pateman, Roger Scruton, Ruth Lister, Fay Weldon, Michael Young, and Barbara Cartland, among others. Rewriting the Sexual Contract examines issues pertinent to the current social and political culture and will be of interest to sociologists, gender studies scholars, and political theorists.Geoff Dench is a senior research fellow at the Institute of Community Studies and a visiting professor at Middlesex University. He is the author of Transforming Men and Minorities in the Open Society: Prisoners of Ambivalence.

Over the past few years there has been a surge of interest in Britain on grandparenting - although it is still a long way behind the USA and several European countries in research in the area. The driving impetus for research is coming from parenting organizations and government departments concerned about the effects on female employment of shortages in nursery places, and about the effect of "parenting deficits" on children. Greater involvement of grandmothers in caring for children has seemed to offer a solution to many related problems. It promises to improve care within the family, and enable mothers to take on paid work with fewer fears for the consequences, without removing other working adults in the family from their jobs. This text discusses how today's grandmothers are changing the image and role that they filled in the past.

Most accounts of ethnic and race relations in Western states are optimistic at heart.They assume that equal participation by minorities will be achieved because it is a "public good" from which citizens will benefi t. Social justice will prevail. In this topical and disturbing book, Geoff Dench challenges these idealistic commentaries, showing that in many instances they do not produce convincing analyses of the position of minorities. He suggests that analysts neglect to explore the web of real interests behind public affi rmations of commitment to integration.

Minorities in the Open Society (1986) challenges optimistic assumptions regarding race relations in western nations, namely that social justice will prevail without much effort. It examines the interests behind public affirmations of commitment to integration, and presents a range of contemporary and historical material which illustrate the double-binds created for minorities by the dominant communities, who offer equality with one hand while obstructing it with the other. Individual members of minorities may be given the opportunity to achieve social prominence – but only to carry out special jobs on behalf of the majority.

Minorities in the Open Society (1986) challenges optimistic assumptions regarding race relations in western nations, namely that social justice will prevail without much effort. It examines the interests behind public affirmations of commitment to integration, and presents a range of contemporary and historical material which illustrate the double-binds created for minorities by the dominant communities, who offer equality with one hand while obstructing it with the other. Individual members of minorities may be given the opportunity to achieve social prominence – but only to carry out special jobs on behalf of the majority.

Over the past few years there has been a surge of interest in Britain on grandparenting - although it is still a long way behind the USA and several European countries in research in the area. The driving impetus for research is coming from parenting organizations and government departments concerned about the effects on female employment of shortages in nursery places, and about the effect of "parenting deficits" on children. Greater involvement of grandmothers in caring for children has seemed to offer a solution to many related problems. It promises to improve care within the family, and enable mothers to take on paid work with fewer fears for the consequences, without removing other working adults in the family from their jobs. This text discusses how today's grandmothers are changing the image and role that they filled in the past.

Most accounts of ethnic and race relations in Western states are optimistic at heart.They assume that equal participation by minorities will be achieved because it is a "public good" from which citizens will benefi t. Social justice will prevail. In this topical and disturbing book, Geoff Dench challenges these idealistic commentaries, showing that in many instances they do not produce convincing analyses of the position of minorities. He suggests that analysts neglect to explore the web of real interests behind public affi rmations of commitment to integration.

This book brings together a wide selection of viewpoints on what is happening to relations between the sexes and the sexual division of labor in contemporary society. The contributors look at the ways in which gender relationships are changing, the consequences of these changes for family life and society generally, and the part the state should play in future developments. Rewriting the Sexual Contract encompasses the views of people with widely differing orientations, stretching across the moral and political spectrum. The contributors provide varied interpretations of what the recent sexual revolution means and where it may be leading us. The questions discussed include: Are the life-styles of men and women converging or polarizing? Do men and women place the same value on family life? Do most mothers want to work full-time while their children are young? Are families strengthened by a sense of differentiation and interdependence between the sexes? Does social policy need to recognize sexual differences in order to maximize social equality?The contributors represent a wide range of viewpoints, but are all involved in analyzing and influencing public attitudes in this area. They include Carole Pateman, Roger Scruton, Ruth Lister, Fay Weldon, Michael Young, and Barbara Cartland, among others. Rewriting the Sexual Contract examines issues pertinent to the current social and political culture and will be of interest to sociologists, gender studies scholars, and political theorists.Geoff Dench is a senior research fellow at the Institute of Community Studies and a visiting professor at Middlesex University. He is the author of Transforming Men and Minorities in the Open Society: Prisoners of Ambivalence.

Using the storyThe Frog Princeas a symbol of traditional awareness of the potential marginality of men in society,Transforming Menproposes that much of patriarchy is a theatrical illusion. Presenting men as more important and powerful than they really are should be seen as a way of controlling them, rather than as a system for dominating women. The author believes that both men and women need to feel that other people are dependent on them.Dench states that women acquire a sense of responsibility through the direct dependence of children, but most men can only come to experience responsibility via women. If women reject the male breadwinning role, then men will never develop the altruistic incentive. Dench urges that men need to be given a greater stake than women in the public realm in order to be the main family providers and become caring members of society. Dispensing with male privileges and formal positions, the author continues, will simply reveal and revive older and deeper problems, to which patriarchy itself was a historical and sociological solution.Dench does not deny the possibility that if men did behave as feminists have asked or expected, then certainly we would be living in a far better world. However, he asserts that it is too simple to just blame men for the fact that this has not happened; perhaps the real failure lies in feminist approaches and theories. Thus, Dench persuasively argues that feminism may be making the male problem worse, not better by insisting on everything from absolute parity to role reversal.Transforming Mencontains examples of many different feminist viewpoints, including those of Margaret Mead, Betty Friedan, and Camille Paglia. It also uses contemporary cultural instances, such as popular movies, television shows, and books, to emphasize its points. This volume presents an intriguing argument regarding feminism versus a patriarchal society. It will provide stimulating reading for all those interested in the feminist debate.

Over the last few decades, families in many highly developed nations (such as Great Britain) have been held together by grandparents. Yet as single motherhood spreads into this generation, extended families without men or work are becoming more common. The proportion of single mothers with daughters who are also state-dependent single mothers is growing. The British underclass has arrived. Women who can see this happening around them, and understand its roots, are the ones most able to revive traditional values, but policymakers are looking the other way. This fuels alienation from mainstream political parties.What Women Want argues that sociology and social policy in Britain have failed to recognize how women's orientation to paid work and a career remains different from men's. Most women now have paid jobs, but the happiest are those working only part time, with plenty of time to enjoy motherhood and being a homemaker. A revised sexual division of labor has emerged; and the author argues that denial of this in Britain may be contributing to the breakdown of family life.A working male partner is a major factor in making women happy. The least content are single mothers dependent on state welfare who know that the state expects them to repay its support by becoming full-time workers when their children reach a certain age. Many single mothers may be victims of policies prioritizing work for women. Single motherhood has grown alongside male male breadwinners. This is a new edition of a book previously distributed only in the United Kingdom.

Fifty years after the term “meritocracy” was coined, this book asks where the idea of meritocracy has led. A team of commentators consider diverse topics such as family and meritocracy, meritocracy and ethnic minorities, and what is meant by talent Contains commentaries by a selection of researchers, activists and politicians, from Asa Briggs to David Willetts, on the origin, meaning and future of meritocracy Demonstrates that Michael Young, who wrote The Rise of the Meritocracy, was right to question the viability of political systems trying to organise themselves around the idea of meritocracy Essential reading for everyone interested in where we are going, and the future of New Labour itself