HALF a century ago, the conventional wisdom was that having a child was the surest way to build a happy marriage. Women's magazines of that era promised that almost any marital problem could be resolved by embarking on parenthood. Once a child arrives, "we don't worry about this couple any more," an editor at Better Homes and Gardens enthused in 1944.
Articles
Boston Globe Sunday Magazine
Husbands do it by gassing up their spouse's car. Wives do it by having a heart-to-heart confessional. Each is expressing intimacy, but in a stereotypical Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus fashion. As Framingham State College sociologist Virginia Rutter notes, "Both men and women value a feeling of closeness with their partner, but they get to that feeling by somewhat different routes." And they often think their partner is taking the wrong route.
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This year marks the 45th anniversary of the publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique . Today, many social conservatives still blame Friedan and feminism for inducing women to abandon the home for the workplace, thus destabilizing families and placing their children at risk.
Wall Street Journal ,
In March, comedian Robin Williams and his estranged wife, Marcia Garces Williams, filed for divorce after 19 years of marriage. But tabloids hoping for a juicy celebrity battle may be disappointed. In court papers filed last month, the couple announced they would conduct a collaborative divorce, pledging to be "honest, cooperative and respectful" and to put their children's interests first.
Newsday
To most Americans, the most heart-rending image of the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal had to be that of his ashen-faced wife standing silently beside him at the podium Monday as he apologized for his transgressions and then again, on Wednesday, when he resigned.
One reporter noted during the unfolding scandal that Silda Wall Spitzer was "living through the worst nightmare for any political spouse."
Baby Talk
Combining traditions has always been a challenge. But it's particularly difficult today because so many older family members embrace rituals that
were developed long ago when the wife was home full-time and could spend
her days cooking and preparing for the holidays. These traditions are totally
inappropriate for today's families, when women work and men share in the
household responsibilities, so it makes sense that families are struggling
to rethink them. I've seen a…