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How do we explain the surprising trajectory of the Chinese Communist revolution? Why has it taken such a different route from its Russian prototype? An answer, Elizabeth Perry suggests, lies in the Chinese Communists’ creative development and deployment of cultural resources – during their revolutionary rise to power and afterwards. Skillful “cultural positioning” and “cultural patronage,” on the part of Mao Zedong, his comrades and successors, helped to construct a polity in which a once alien Communist system came to be accepted as familiarly “Chinese.” Perry traces this process through a case study of the Anyuan coal mine, a place where Mao and other early leaders of the Chinese Communist Party mobilized an influential labor movement at the beginning of their revolution, and whose history later became a touchstone of “political correctness” in the People’s Republic of China. Once known as “China’s Little Moscow,” Anyuan came over time to symbolize a distinctively Chinese revolutionary tradition. Yet the meanings of that tradition remain highly contested, as contemporary Chinese debate their revolutionary past in search of a new political future.

This book is a forceful examination of how and why a state-level revolt against welfare, begun in the late 1940s, was transformed into a national-level assault that destroyed a critical part of the nation’s safety net, with tragic consequences for American society. With a wealth of original research, the book puts recent debates about the contemporary welfare backlash into an historical perspective. It provides a closer look at these early anti-welfare campaigns, showing why they were more successful in some states than others and how opponents of welfare sometimes targeted Puerto Ricans and Chicanos as well as blacks for cutbacks. The book’s research reveals both the continuities and changes in American welfare opposition from the late 1940s to the present. The book brings new evidence to light that reveals how large farmers and racist politicians, concerned about the supply of cheap labor, appealed to white voters’ racial resentments and stereotypes about unwed mothers, blacks, and immigrants in the 1950s. It then examines congressional failure to replace the current welfare system with a more popular alternative in the 1960s and 1970s, which paved the way for national assaults on welfare. Taking a fresh look at recent debates on welfare reform, the book explores how and why politicians competing for the white vote and right-wing think tanks promoting business interests appeased the Christian right and manufactured consent for cutbacks through a powerful, racially coded discourse. Finally, through firsthand testimonies, the book vividly portrays the tragic consequences of current welfare policies and calls for a bold new agenda for working families.

This book brings together empirical work on polyamory on the one hand and feminist, queer, and critical race theory on the other fill a theoretical gap in understanding the role of monogamy in legitimating and perpetuating relations of social and cultural inequality. The two central theoretical goals in the book are to (1) begin unpacking the links between compulsory and institutionalized monogamy and heteromasculine privilege and dominance as it intersects with race and sexuality, and (2) develop a theoretical framework for identifying and cultivating what the author calls polyqueer sexualities—sexual and relationship intimacies that include more than two people and that, through plurality, open up possibilities to “undo” race and gender hierarchies in ways that would not otherwise arise within the context of dyadic sex or monogamy. Given the role of compulsory monogamy in legitimating and perpetuating race, gender, and sexual inequalities, the author argues that polyqueer challenges to mononormativity can, if done collectively, undo at least part of those systems of domination within the context of intimate relationships both in terms of their symbolic meaning and their embodied practice. The author does so by exploring narratives of cheating, constructions of the “Down Low,” and erotic threesomes, as well as her own experiences of polyamory.

The last several decades have witnessed major changes in gender roles and family patterns, as well as a falling birth rate in Ireland and the rest of Europe. This book presents the results of the first major study to examine people’s attitudes to family formation and childbearing in Ireland; it also explores the effect of new family forms on well-being. The research was based on an in-depth qualitative study of 48 men and women in the childbearing age group, followed by a survey of a representative sample of 1,404 men and women. The study explored whether changes in gender roles impacted on family formation. The results showed that while women’s progress in the workplace has been welcomed, there is also a perceived threat of women’s advancement, as well as some ambiguity in the male role. Attitudes towards marriage and cohabitation are positive and cohabitation is seen as a step in the progression towards marriage. Attitudes towards being single are also positive, though in some cases ambivalent, but single women, particularly older and better educated ones are finding it more difficult to find a partner and this is impeding family formation on their part. Differences in women’s and men’s biological clocks were found to be important in relation to this, as were the lack of affordable childcare and flexible working arrangements. The findings were discussed in light of the demographic trends of later marriage, decreasing fertility and the increasing proportion of single people in the population.

This book documents the early lives of almost 19,000 children born in the UK at the start of the 21st century, and their families. It is the first time that analysis of data from the hugely important Millennium Cohort Study, a longitudinal study following the progress of children and their families, has been drawn together in a single volume. The unrivalled data is examined here to address important policy and scientific issues. The book is also the first in a series of publications that will report on the children's lives at different stages of their development. The fascinating range of findings presented here is strengthened by comparison with data on earlier generations. This has enabled the book to assess the impact of a wide range of policies on the life courses of a new generation, including policies on child health, parenting, childcare and social exclusion. This book is the product of an exciting collaboration from experts across a wide range of health and social science fields. The result is a unique and authoritative analysis of family life and early childhood in the UK that cuts across old disciplinary boundaries.

This book documents the first five years of life of the children of the influential Millennium Cohort Study, which is tracking almost 19,000 babies born in 2000 and 2001 in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. This book is the second in a series of books that report on the findings from the data and follows on from Children of the 21st century: From birth to nine months (The Policy Press, 2005). It takes an extended look at the children's lives and development as they grow and begin formal education, and the implications for family policy, and service planning in health and social services. The chapters in this book are written by experts across a wide range of social science and health fields and form a unique look at the early lives of children that cuts across disciplinary boundaries.

Even after twenty years of children's rights and new thinking about childhood, children are still frequently seen as apolitical. All over the world there has been a growing emphasis on ‘participation’, but much of this is adult-led, and spaces for children's individual and collective autonomy are limited. This book questions many of the conventional ways in which children are perceived. It focuses on the politics of children's communication in two senses: children as political actors, and the micropolitics of children's interaction with each other and with adults. It looks at how children and young people communicate and engage, how they organise themselves and their lives, and how they deal with conflict in their relationships and the world around them. These are children at the margins, in various ways, but they are not victims; they are finding ways to take charge of their own lives. The book is also about adults and how they can interact with children and young people in ways that are sensitive to children's feelings, empowering and supportive of their attempts to be autonomous.

This book asks how far and in what way social inclusion policies are meeting the needs and rights of children and young people. Leading scholars write from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines including social policy, education, geography and sociology. The book critically examines the concepts of participation and social inclusion and their links with children and childhoods and considers the geography of social inclusion and exclusion. It explores young people's own conceptualisations of social inclusion and exclusion; and examines how these concepts have been expressed in policy at various levels. The book concludes with an agenda for progressing participation and social inclusion, both for and with children and young people.

Are information and communication technologies (ICTs) connecting families? And what does this mean in terms of family routines, relationships, norms, work, intimacy and privacy? This book takes a life course and generational perspective covering theory, including posthumanism and strong structuration theory, and methodology, including digital and cross-disciplinary methods. It presents a series of case studies on topics such as intergenerational connections, work–life balance, transnational families, digital storytelling and mobile parenting. It will give students, researchers and practitioners a variety of tools to make sense of how ICTs are used, appropriated and domesticated in family life. These tools allow for an informed and critical understanding of ICTs and family dynamics.

Grandparenting in the 21^st century is at the heart of profound family and societal changes. It is of increasing social and economic significance yet many dimensions of grandparenting are still poorly understood. Contemporary Grandparenting is the first book to take a sociological approach to grandparenting across diverse country contexts and combines new theorising with up-to-date empirical findings to document the changing nature of grandparenting across global contexts. In this highly original book, leading contributors analyse how grandparenting differs according to the nature of the welfare state and the cultural context, how family breakdown influences grandparenting, and explore men's changing roles as grandfathers. Grandparents today face conflicting norms and expectations about their roles, but act with agency to forge new identities within the context of societal and cultural constraints. Contemporary Grandparenting illuminates key issues relevant to students and researchers from sociology and social policy, including in the fields of family, childhood, ageing and gender studies.

This book is born of a contradiction: on the one hand, there has been a genuine advance in the awareness of violence against women and children and actions to oppose it. On the other, the violence persists and so does the counter-attack against those who seek to expose it. The book describes the links between discrimination, violence against women, and violence against children, and uncovers the strategies and tactics used for concealing it. The author's analysis, corroborated by a theoretical framework as well as international research data, reveals the interconnectedness of what might appear to be separate events or measures. The book also demonstrates how the same tactics and strategies are at work in various different countries.

India is the top provider of surrogacy services in the world, with a multi-million dollar surrogacy industry that continues to grow exponentially. Some scholars have exulted transnational surrogacy for the possibilities it opens for infertile couples, while others have offered bioethical cautionary tales, rebuked exploitative intended parents, or lamented the exploitation of surrogate mothers—but very little is known about the experience of and transaction between surrogate mothers and intended parents outside the lens of the many agencies that control surrogacy in India. Drawing from interviews with surrogate mothers and egg donors in Bangalore, as well as twenty straight and gay couples in the United States and Australia, this book focuses on the processes of social and market exchange in transnational surrogacy. It interrogates the creation and maintenance of reproductive labor markets, the function of agencies and surrogacy brokers, and how women become surrogate mothers. The book argues that this reproductive industry is organized to control and disempower women workers and yet the interviews reveal that, by and large, the surrogate mothers in Bangalore found the experience life affirming. The book explores this tension, and the lived realities of many surrogate mothers whose deepening bodily commodification is paradoxically experienced as a revitalizing life development. Itdelineates how local labor markets intertwine with global reproduction industries, how Bangalore's surrogate mothers make sense of their participation in reproductive assembly lines, and the remarkable ways in which they negotiate positions of power for themselves in progressively untenable socio-economic conditions.

Child poverty is currently regarded by many as the ‘number one’ issue in Britain. Yet it has not always been so high on the policy agenda. What were attitudes to poor children 200 years ago? How did child poverty emerge as both a quantifiable and urgent issue? And how did policy makers respond? These are the questions that this book tackles. The book presents a broad but sophisticated overview of 200 years of investigation into and responses to the plight of poor children. It identifies key moments and figures of the period, and includes chapters on children and work, education, and child poverty research to provide the essential context for the story of the ‘discovery’ of child poverty. Clearly and accessibly written, this book provides a concise but richly detailed account of the subject. It will appeal to policy makers, practitioners, researchers, and all those with an interest in child poverty wishing to understand the antecedents of current research and policy.

This book explores the issue of healthcare professionals' attitudes towards women who are victims of domestic violence. There is a growing interest by healthcare professionals and researchers in the role of healthcare professionals in relation to domestic violence. The book looks at the health experiences of women who are victims of domestic violence and the responses to such injuries by healthcare professionals. The author presents the results of an in-depth qualitative study, conducted within Britain, examining domestic violence and health. Women who are treated medically without any acknowledgement of the social, personal, and psychological aspects of their condition, are likely to re-present with domestic-violence-related injuries. The book includes chapters that look at why women access health services, an examination of the physical and non-physical effects of domestic violence, the range of treatment options currently favoured by healthcare professionals and the response of patients to them, differentiations in practice between different health professionals, and the impact of domestic violence as a social issue on trends in medical training. These issues are considered in light of debates about medicalisation, the function of the sick role, and both biomedical/wound-led, and holistic/person-led approaches to health provision. Key findings are highlighted, and the author provides recommendations for good practice.

This book expands and updates the nuanced historical perspective used in the first edition to understand African American family patterns. The result is a narrative that challenges conventional understanding of the continuing plight of African American families. The book traces the evolution of the black family from slavery to the present, showing the cumulative effects of centuries of historical change. Beginning with a richly researched account of the impact of slavery on black families, the text points out that slavery not only caused extreme instability and suffering for families, but also established a lasting pattern of poverty that made the economic advantages of marriage unattainable for many. The book suggests a prominent role of such policy in constructing the circumstances of black family life. The revised edition updates the final chapters of this study by exploring changes in marriage patterns over time more specifically. In addition, the revised edition gives expanded consideration to the impact on the urban poor of the massive changes in the economy and of mass incarceration. The book demonstrates how each of these changes has operated to dramatically reduce the marriage options of men and women in urban communities.

Providing early education and care (ECEC) which is both equitable and high quality is a challenge all governments are confronting. This comparative volume seeks both to broaden and to deepen our understanding of policies in operation in different countries. It asks how successfully policies in eight different countries ensure that all children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, can access high quality ECEC. The countries included are Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the UK and the US. Each chapter is written by academic experts from the country in question, and contains empirical evidence on access to services by children from different backgrounds, alongside careful analysis and discussion of how services are organised, including the operation of funding and regulation mechanisms. A concluding chapter pulls together potential policy lessons from across the eight countries, highlighting common policy challenges, and, where possible, identifying policies that have proved effective in particular countries. The book recognises the very different cultural and institutional inheritance which has shaped services in each country, and the idea is not one of “fast policy transfer” but rather one of “contextualised policy learning” (Mahon, 2007), in which attention is given to how policies work on the ground and to the contexts in which they are embedded.

The book explores the relationship between colonial history and memory from the perspective of middle- class intergenerational relations. Drawing from a prolonged research conducted with Malayali middle classes in Kerala and in the diaspora, the analysis focuses on how specific historical events are retrieved in the present to shape kinship relations and to legitimize trajectories of class mobility. The book bridges historical analysis of gendered family relations as they developed in colonial and postcolonial times with an anthropological inquiry of the symbolic and material premises of kinship among contemporary middle classes. It provides an ethnographically grounded analysis of how middle-class status in contemporary south India is expressed by recalling family histories, and how remembrance shapes kinship ideals, norms, and experiences in domains as different as houses, conjugality, parenthood, reproduction and family size, intergenerational love and genealogical transmission. The book offers original insights on the continuities and differences between colonial and contemporary middle classes, and the role played by migration and diaspora in both contexts. It originally contributes to two interrelated and undertheorized fields within social sciences. Firstly, it addresses the need to develop further our understanding of how gendered kinship and family relations result from and express class belonging. Secondly, it unravels the complex and ambivalent relation between political history, memory, and the ‘private’ domain of family relations.

Acknowledging the increasing diversity and complexity of families, this book proposes a new conceptual framework for understanding families and other relationships that both challenges and attempts to reconcile traditional and contemporary approaches. Using the notion of ‘boundaries’, the book shifts thinking from ‘families as entities’ to ‘families as relationship processes’. Emphasising the processes that underlie boundary construction and reconstruction suggests that the key to understanding family life is the process of relationship formation. The ideas of entity, boundary, margins and hybridity provide a framework for understanding the diverse, and often contradictory, ways in which families contribute to society.

This book addresses the complexity of family change. It draws on evidence from two linked studies, one carried out in the 1960s and the other in the early years of the 21st century, to analyse the specific ways in which family lives have changed and how they have been affected by the major structural and cultural changes of the second half of the 20th century. The book shows that, while there has undeniably been change, there is a surprising degree of continuity in family practices. It casts doubt on claims that families have been subject to a process of dramatic change and provides an alternative account which is based on careful analysis of empirical data. The book presents a unique opportunity to chart the nature of social change in a particular locality over the last 50 years; includes discussions of social and cultural variations in family life, focusing on younger as well as older generations; explores not only what happens within family-households but also what happens within networks of kin across different households and shows the way changing patterns of employment affect kinship networks and how geographical mobility co-exists with the maintenance of strong kinship ties.

Across Europe and beyond, changing family living arrangements have stimulated popular and academic debate about the impact of socio-demographic trends on family well-being and the challenges they present for governments. This book explores the complex relationship between family change and public policy responses in EU member states and candidate countries. After comparing the major socio-economic changes of the late twentieth century in Europe and their impact on family and working life, it analyses both the reactions of policy makers and users as they respond to change, and the perceptions families have of public policy and its relative importance in their lives.