Studying U.S. Families: 'Men Are Where Women Were 30 Years Ago'

Are Men'Where Women Were 30 Years Ago'?
February 1957: Former press operator John Millar adds babysitting to his resume. He is a member of an odd-job pool formed by the many men and women who lost their jobs at the Dagenham motor works through redundancy. (Photo by Lee Tracey/BIPs/Getty Images)
February 1957: Former press operator John Millar adds babysitting to his resume. He is a member of an odd-job pool formed by the many men and women who lost their jobs at the Dagenham motor works through redundancy. (Photo by Lee Tracey/BIPs/Getty Images)

On subjects ranging from reproductive rights to gay marriage to the role of the First Lady, there is, perhaps, no more widely quoted expert than Stephanie Coontz. Professor Coontz, whose background is in history, has taught Family Studies at Evergreen College since 1975—before the discipline was even created. She is also Co-Chair and Director of Public Education at the Council on Contemporary Families and a frequent contributor to The New York Times’ Sunday Review.

Coontz spoke with me about how family studies has developed as a field of study, why she doesn’t call herself a “feminist teacher,” and our new expectations for marriage.

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