Originally published in 1992

Acclaimed historian Stephanie Coontz provides a myth-shattering examination of two centuries of the American family, sweeping away misconceptions about the past that cloud current debates about domestic life

"Leave It to Beaver was not a documentary, a man's home has never been his castle, the "male breadwinner marriage" is the least traditional family in history, and rape and sexual assault were far higher in the 1970s than they are today. In The Way We Never Were, acclaimed historian Stephanie Coontz examines two centuries of the American family, sweeping away misconceptions about the past that cloud current debates about domestic life. The 1950s do not present a workable model of how to conduct our personal lives today, Coontz argues, and neither does any other era from our cultural past. This revised edition includes a new introduction and epilogue, exploring how the clash between growing gender equality and rising economic inequality is reshaping family life, marriage, and male-female relationships in our modern era. More relevant than ever, The Way We Never Were is a potent corrective to dangerous nostalgia for an American tradition that never really existed."--Back cover

Introduction to the 2016 edition --

The way we wish we were: defining the family crisis -- 'Leave it to Beaver' and 'Ozzie and Harriet': American families in the 1950s -- 'My mother was a Saint': individualism, gender myths, and the problem of love -- We always stood on our own two feet: self-reliance and the American family -- Strong families, the foundation of a virtuous society: family values and civic responsibility -- A man's home is his castle: the family and outside intervention -- Bra-burners and family bashers: feminism, working women, consumerism, and the family -- 'First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Mary with a baby carriage': marriage, sex, and reproduction -- Toxic parents, supermoms, and absent fathers: putting parenting in perspective -- Pregnant girls, wilding boys, crack babies, and the underclass: the myth of black family collapse -- The crisis reconsidered -- Epilogue to the 2016 edition: for better AND worse: family trends in the twenty-first century --

Acknowledgments --

Notes --

Index