Family & Relationships

Stepmothers often battle with a range of negative myths and stereotypes, with Cinderella’s wicked stepmother being the most infamous.

Drawing on 20 in-depth interviews with British stepmothers, this book reimagines the expectations, practices and position of stepmothers through a feminist sociological lens. Combining firsthand accounts, including the author’s own experiences, the book reveals the complexities of stepfamily dynamics and how stepmothers navigate them.

By examining the interplay between personal experiences and broader gendered, historical and social structures, the author offers a fresh perspective on contemporary stepmothers and stepfamilies.

This book offers a unique look into how couples manage paid employment, housework and childcare. The author explores how employment structures, policies and practices intersect with individual attitudes to either reinforce or challenge gender inequalities in the domestic sphere through the ‘doing’ and ‘undoing’ of gender.

The book introduces a new typology of fathering as a key mechanism through which policies affect domestic divisions of labour, demonstrating how this typology shapes the tasks men undertake and the impact of this on women’s ability to act on their ‘preferences’ about how to combine paid work and home

By examining couples' negotiations of housework and childcare, the book highlights the disparity between men’s and women’s reports on household duties, revealing distinct gendered differences in how these tasks are conceptualized and measured.

Drawing on extensive empirical research, this book examines paternal involvement in caregiving practices and asks what is currently happening to ‘involved’ fatherhood?

The book investigates fatherhood in various everyday settings, such as outdoor spaces, workplaces and the home, while considering the influence of policy frameworks across different European countries. By analysing fathers’ experiences and the impact of policy on familial roles, it provides fresh insights into the concept of ‘involvement’ and progression towards practices of more equitable fatherhood.

Encouraging new thinking on paternal engagement, this is a critical look at how fatherhood is navigated, negotiated and understood within diverse cultural and policy contexts in everyday life.

Nordic countries lead the way in facilitating better work-family integration through their design of parental leave policies that encourage men towards life courses with greater care responsibilities.

Based on original research, this compelling book offers a novel analysis of the everyday parental practices of fathers and parents in Norway as a way of understanding the workings of labour market and welfare policies, whilst considering how migrant fathers might relate to the expectations such laws generate. The authors showcase how this style of men’s care work constitutes a re-gendering of men by promoting ‘caring masculinities’.

Written by leading experts in the field, this timely collection highlights current strategies and thinking in relation to prevention of sexual violence and critically considers the limitations of these frameworks.

Combining psychological, criminological, sociological and legal perspectives, it explores academic, practitioner and survivor points of view. It addresses broad themes, from cultures of sexual harassment to the role of media in oversexualising women and girls, as well as specific issues including violence against children and older people.

For researchers, practitioners and students alike, this is an invaluable resource that maps new approaches for practice and prevention.