Full Description
Extraordinary changes in patterns of family life—and family law—have dramatically altered the boundaries of parenthood and opened up numerous questions and debates. What is parenthood and why does it matter? How should society define, regulate, and support it? Is parenthood separable from marriage—or couplehood—when society seeks to foster children's well-being? What is the better model of parenthood from the perspective of child outcomes?
Intense disagreements over the definition and future of marriage often rest upon conflicting convictions about parenthood. What Is Parenthood? asks bold and direct questions about parenthood in contemporary society, and it brings together a stellar interdisciplinary group of scholars with widely varying perspectives to investigate them. Editors Linda C. McClain and Daniel Cere facilitate a dynamic conversation between scholars from several disciplines about competing models of parenthood and a sweeping array of topics, including single parenthood, adoption, donor-created families, gay and lesbian parents, transnational parenthood, parent-child attachment, and gender difference and parenthood.
Contents
Acknowledgments Introduction Part I 1. Toward an Integrative Account of Parenthood 2. A Diversity Approach to Parenthood in Family Life and Family LawPart II 3. Uncoupling Marriage and Parenting 4. The Anthropological Case for the Integrative ModelPart III 5. Legal Parenthood, Natural and Legal Rights, and the Best Interests of the Child: An Integrative View 6. Family Diversity and the Rights of Parenthood Part IV 7. A Case for Integrated Parenthood 8. Developmental Outcomes for Children Raised by Lesbian and Gay Parents Part V 9. Biological and Psychological Dimensions of Integrative Attachments 10. Parenting Matters: An Attachment PerspectivePart VI 11. Gender and Parentage 12. Can Parenting Be Equal? Rethinking Equality and Gender Differences in ParentingPart VII 13. Transnationalism of the Heart: Familyhood across Borders 14. Transnational Mothering and Models of ParenthoodPart VIII 15. Of Human Bonding 16. The Other Side of the Demographic Revolution Epilogue About the Contributors Index
