Love, marriage and family values from West Holly wood to Western China by Judith Stacey - Book Report/Review Example

Presently she is a Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis and Sociology at New York University (NYU). She is a PhD in Sociology from Brandeis University; an M.A. in History from University of Illinois, Chicago and a B.A. in Social Studies from University of Michigan (Judith Stacey, SCA ! NYU). In this book, she researched on unconventional and unfamiliar cultures of marriage and families from around the world. She includes gay men relation and the problems they face in parenthood to non-marital form of families in South Africa and China.

The basic purpose of Unhitched is to reveal different forms of family living other than a normal man, woman and children household. Stacey provides an insight towards these forms of living and counters the idea of one type of family. The main idea behind her work is enhancing the vision to see the world clearly in order to make our norms more flexible and in line with the changing needs of human kind. “Originality implies being bold enough to go beyond accepted norms. “ (Anthony Storr) Accepting the difficulties faced by normal families, this book tries to open the door of thoughts towards diversity.

There is no established method of fulfilling your desires to be happy and satisfied. Judith uses the example of Mosuo culture to explain the concept of unconventional marriages. . There is no social pressure on these people to live without their consent. Judith Stacey referred this process as “unhitching the horse from his carriage.” According to ABC news: “Anthropologists say because the men have no power, control no land, and play subservient sexual roles, there is nothing for them to fight about; making this culture one of the most harmonious societies on the planet.

The Mosuo people, estimated to number around 50,000, have no word for war, no murders, no rapes, and no jails.” Mosuo live with their mother-sided families which means a father has more responsibilities towards its nephews and niece than towards his own children. They live with their families in communal quarters without having separate bedrooms. However women of certain ages are allowed not only to get separate bedroom but to invite any man of their choice after dark. There is also no restriction of having more than one partner so Mosuo men and women can make relations with as many partners as they want.

Judith also gives example of gay relations in America. She explains that gay couples are more open to each other in stating their sexual desires and fulfilling it and there are fewer ego problems and hurting of self-esteem as compared to men and women relation. According to her, gay couples are more committed to each other than normal couples and there is no dominance in their relation because of being the bread winner of the family. According to the Times: “The psychologists concluded that gays and lesbians are nicer than straight people during arguments with partners: they are significantly less belligerent, less domineering and less fearful.

Gays and lesbians also use humor more often when arguing (and lesbians use even more humor than