Quotes from Stephanie Coontz

Cohabitation itself doesn't cause ineffective parenting.

Heterosexuals were the upstarts who turned marriage into a voluntary love relationship rather than a mandatory economic and political institution.

Deciding together to have a child and sharing in child-rearing do not immunize a marriage. Indeed, collaborative couples can face other problems. They often embark on such an intense style of parenting that they end up paying less attention to each other.

Inequality was written into the creation of the American Republic when our Founding Fathers denied voting rights to women.

Trump made his fortune manipulating tax laws and stiffing small businessmen, creating a few well-paying jobs along the way. Vulnerable people looking to master 'the art of the deal' learned the hard way that Trump held all the cards.

Unemployment, low wages, and poverty discourage family formation and erode family stability, making it less likely that individuals will marry in the first place and more likely that their marriages will dissolve.

As an overly confident college freshman, the first time I received a below-average score on an exam was a needed wake-up call.

In personal life, the warm glow of nostalgia amplifies good memories and minimizes bad ones about experiences and relationships, encouraging us to revisit and renew our ties with friends and family. It always involves a little harmless self-deception, like forgetting the pain of childbirth.

As a historian, I've spent much of my career warning people about the dangers of nostalgia.

Having more education is one of the biggest predictors of women having careers.

Marriage can provide a bounty of emotional, practical, and financial support. But finding the right mate is no substitute for having friends and other interests.

When liberals dismiss all Trump supporters as racists, this only fuels their anger.

Hyper-parenting has many pitfalls. Overprotected and overpraised children may develop an inflated sense of entitlement.

The notion that marriage is an impediment to commitments to the larger community is a long-standing one - and one reason early Christians did not place the institution at the top of their moral hierarchy, complaining that married couples cared more about pleasing each other than doing the Lord's work.

The place where we keep our clothes isn't always the only place where we keep our commitments.

Couples need time alone to renew their relationship. They also need to sustain supportive networks of friends and family.

Economically as well as emotionally, modern marriage has become like an affluent gated community. It has become harder for low-income Americans to enter and sustain.

For most of America's history, people typically aspired to acquire 'a competency' rather than great riches. A competency meant the ability to comfortably sustain a household without depending on others. 'Competence' also meant being capable and reliable. The American Dream was that people who worked hard and capably could support their families.

Putting women first would mean strengthening America's social safety net, because a higher proportion of single-mother families live in poverty here than in any other wealthy country.

I've had the kind of complex life I write about. I was a single mother for 12 years. I'd been engaged. The wedding fell through. I then discovered I was pregnant and opted to have the child on my own. I was a professor. I was in my mid-30s. I could manage it financially.

Social and economic policies constructed around the male breadwinner model have always disadvantaged women.

Feminism needs a political program because gender inequality has been fostered by political decisions.

The growing diversity of family life comes with new possibilities as well as new challenges.

Presidents Reagan and the first George Bush never used the vile language of some Trump supporters, but both blamed scarce resources and decaying communities on 'welfare queens' and black criminals like Willie Horton.