Throughout history, people with few educational or economic resources and little bargaining power have often looked to authoritarian, ruthless people to stand… — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
As time passes, the actual complexity of our history - even of our own personal experience - gets buried under the weight… — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
As a historian, I've spent much of my career warning people about the dangers of nostalgia. — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
In my work as a historian and in my relationships as a friend, teacher, wife, and mother, I have come to think… — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
Why do people - gay or straight - need the state's permission to marry? For most of Western history, they didn't, because… — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
For most of America's history, people typically aspired to acquire 'a competency' rather than great riches. A competency meant the ability to… — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
The historical weight of gender inequality has tended to concentrate women in lower-paid jobs with fewer benefits and at the same time… — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
In the 1970s, family history wasn't yet thought of a serious field for study. I was terrified of being laughed at by… — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
In 1975, which was the height of the women's movement, I thought I'd write a book on women's history. But in searching… — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
Whatever their relative valuation of the single and married states, most societies in history made sharp distinctions between those who married and… — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
Putting women's traditional needs at the center of social planning is not reverse sexism. It's the best way to reverse the increasing… — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
“Never before in history had societies thought that such a set of high expectations about marriage was either realistic or desirable. Although… — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
As an overly confident college freshman, the first time I received a below-average score on an exam was a needed wake-up call. — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
For every nineteenth-century middle-class family that protected its wife and child within the family circle, there was an Irish ora German girl scrubbing floors… — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
A primary motivation for introducing no-fault divorce was, in fact, to reduce perjury in the legal system. — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
Graduating from high school is certainly a good idea, but it's no longer much protection against poverty. — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
Almost all scholarly research carries practical and political implications. Better that we should spell these out ourselves than leave that task to people with… — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
Investing in living-wage jobs and reducing the inequities between local school districts would give young people more, not less, incentive to postpone childbearing and… — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
Hyper-parenting has many pitfalls. Overprotected and overpraised children may develop an inflated sense of entitlement. — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
Social and economic policies constructed around the male breadwinner model have always disadvantaged women. — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
When I speak on work-family issues to audiences around the country, some of the biggest complaints I hear come from individuals who are described… — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
Extended families have never been the norm in America; the highest figure for extended-family households ever recorded in Americanhistory is 20 percent. Contrary to… — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
Unilateral divorce has decreased the bargaining power of the person who wants the marriage to last and has not engaged in behavior that meets… — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
The closer we get to achieving equality of opportunity between the sexes, the more clearly we can see that the next major obstacle to… — Stephanie Coontz Copy Share Image
