Stephanie Coontz

“It is pointless to construct a hierarchy of who hurt more, and whether one kind of pain was more or less justified than another.”

“Like it or not, today we are all pioneers, picking our way through uncharted and unstable territory. The old rules are no longer reliable guides to work out modern gender roles and build a secure foundation for marriage. Wherever it is that people want to end up in their family relations today, even if they are totally committed to creating a so-called traditional marrige, they have to get there by a different route from the past.”

“Moving lockstep through a series of predictable transitions is no longer a route to personal security. Each man and woman must put together a highly individualized sequence of transitions in and out of school, work, and marriage in order to take advantage of shifting opportunities and respond to unexpected setbacks--a "do-it-yourself biolography.”

“Up until 1900, more than half the graduates from women's colleges remained single, many of them carving out careers in new fields such as social work.”

“Contrary to popular opinion, 'Leave it to Beaver' was not a documentary.”

“Like most visions of a 'golden age', the 'traditional family' evaporates on closer examination. It is an ahistorical amalgam of structures, values, and behaviors that never coexisted in the same time and place.”