Böcker av Margaret K. Nelson

"Drawing on 160 published memoirs, this book explores the costs and benefits in the post-WWII period in the United States both for individuals and for families of keeping secrets about homosexuality, institutionalization of children with disabilities, unwed pregnancy, involvement in left-wing political activities, adoption, and Jewish ancestry"--

For decades, social scientists have assumed that "fictive kinship" is a phenomenon associated only with marginal peoples and people of colour in the United States. In this innovative book, Nelson reveals the frequency, texture and dynamics of relationships which are felt to be "like family" among the White, middle-class.

Analyzing the goals and aspirations parents have for their children as well as the strategies they use to reach them, this book discovers fundamental differences among American parenting styles that expose class fault lines, both within the elite and between the elite and the middle and working classes.

This volume takes a look inside the households of working-class Americans to consider how they are coping with large-scale structural changes in the economy, specifically how the downgrading of jobs has affected survival strategies, gender dynamics and political attitudes.