How Families Matter

Simply Complicated Intersections of Race, Gender, and Work

By (author) Pamela Braboy Jackson, Rashawn Ray

Not available to order

Publication date:

20 June 2018

Length of book:

190 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9781498522571

The family remains the most contested institution in American society. How Families Matter:
Simply Complicated Intersections of Race, Gender, and Work explores the ways adults make sense of their family lives in the midst of the complicated debates generated by politicians and social scientists. Given the rhetoric about the family, this book is a well overdue account of family life from the perspective of families themselves. The purpose of this book is to provide the reader with a whole view of different types of families. The chapters focus on contemporary issues such as who do we consider to be a part of our family, can anyone achieve family-life balance, and how do families celebrate when they get together? Relying on stories shared by a racially/ethnically diverse group of forty-six families, this book finds that parents and siblings cultivate a family identity that both defines who they are and influences who they become. It is a welcomed installment to conversations about the family, as families are finally viewed within a single study from a multicultural lens.
This beautifully written book captures the incredible complexity of American families by showcasing the real-life stories of individuals in families. It is sure to become a classic in the finest tradition of richly-textured sociological research on families.