a snippet for thought:
Often what happens in black America is a sign of what the rest of America can eventually expect...In 1960, 67 percent of black families were headed by a husband and wife, compared to 90.9 percent for whites. By 2000, the figure for white families had dropped to 79.8 percent. Births to unwed white mothers were 22.5 percent in 2001, compared to 2.3 percent in 1960. So my student who thought marriage is for white people may have to rethink that in the future.
and another, which particularly struck me:
...if marriage is to flourish -- in black or white America -- it will have to offer an individual woman something more than a business alliance, a panacea for what ails the community, or an incubator for rearing children.
i think there might be 17 different debates to be had in that last quote alone.
1 comment:
karen, your point traditional marriage being ingrained in western culture is one i've been thinking about a lot. i think that the question is, if this is really the case, how do you change it? you point out that you don't think feminist theorizing will do it - i agree. any successful change always comes about as a combination of understanding theory and understanding practice.
in other words, how do we talk about changing marriage for the better AND take action to change marriage for the better?
i will have more on this, as it's been swirling around in my brain!
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