In 1950, China's new Communist government enacted a Marriage Law to allow free choice in marriage and easier access to divorce. Prohibiting arranged marriages, concubinage, and bigamy, it was one of the most dramatic efforts ever by a state to change marital and family relationships. In this comprehensive study of the effects of that law, Neil J. Diamant draws on newly opened urban and rural archival sources to offer a detailed analysis of how the law was interpreted and implemented throughout the country. In sharp contrast to previous studies of the Marriage Law, which have argued that it had little effect in rural areas, Diamant argues that the law reshaped marriage and family relationships in significant--but often unintended--ways throughout the Maoist period. His evidence reveals a confused and often conflicted state apparatus, as well as cases of Chinese men and women taking advantage of the law to justify multiple sexual encounters, to marry for beauty, to demand expensive gifts for engagement, and to divorce on multiple occasions. Moreover, he finds, those who were best placed to use the law's more liberal provisions were not well-educated urbanites but rather illiterate peasant women who had never heard of sexual equality; and it was poor men, not women, who were those most betrayed by the peasant-based revolution.

A new look at the impact of the Communist Revolution on Chinese family structure.

Kay Ann Johnson provides much-needed information about women and gender equality under Communist leadership. She contends that, although the Chinese Communist Party has always ostensibly favored women's rights and family reform, it has rarely pushed for such reforms. In reality, its policies often have reinforced the traditional role of women to further the Party's predominant economic and military aims. Johnson's primary focus is on reforms of marriage and family because traditional marriage, family, and kinship practices have had the greatest influence in defining and shaping women's place in Chinese society. Conversant with current theory in political science, anthropology, and Marxist and feminist analysis, Johnson writes with clarity and discernment free of dogma. Her discussions of family reform ultimately provide insights into the Chinese government's concern with decreasing the national birth rate, which has become a top priority. Johnson's predictions of a coming crisis in population control are borne out by the recent increase in female infanticide and the government abortion campaign.

The truth about family is that it is the foundation that impacts every aspect of a person's life and relationships. When family life is out of order, it brings disorder, however subtle or visible, to other arenas and relationships of life. It impacts a person's school, work, community, church, recreational and other of life's activities. Attitudes, behaviors, and character come through family life. REVOLUTIONIZING FAMILIES: changing the way you live & love, provides helpful insights, tools, and instruction to help any family find the kind of family life that God intended for them in the beginning...that is healthy, joyful and harmonious relationships that bring fulfillment, preparing the younger generation for a positive and productive future family life. All families have issues and experience trouble, problems and crisis; these, however, do not have to dictate how your family will be. And, there is always a healthy, positive, biblical answer to help guide families through the challenges of this life. This book is a must read for every family in America and beyond!

Scholars have long heralded mestizaje, or race mixing, as the essence of the Cuban nation. Revolutionizing Romance is an account of the continuing significance of race in Cuba as it is experienced in interracial relationships. This ethnography tracks young couples as they move in a world fraught with shifting connections of class, race, and culture that are reflected in space, racialized language, and media representations of blackness, whiteness, and mixedness. As one of the few scholars to conduct long-term anthropological fieldwork in the island nation, Nadine T. Fernandez offers a rare insider's view of the country's transformations during the post-Soviet era. Following a comprehensive history of racial formations up through Castro's rule, the book then delves into more intimate and contemporary spaces. Language, space and place, foreign tourism, and the realm of the family each reveal, through the author's deft analysis, the paradox of living a racialized life in a nation that celebrates a policy of colorblind equality.

An insider’s guide to the coming philanthropic revolution Meet the next generation of big donors—the Gen X and Millennial philanthropists who will be the most significant donors ever and will shape our world in profound ways. Hear them describe their ambitious plans to revolutionize giving so it achieves greater impact. And learn how to help them succeed in a world that needs smart, effective donors now more than ever. As “next gen donors” step into their philanthropic roles, they have not only unprecedented financial resources, but also big ideas for how to wield their financial power. They want to disrupt the traditional world of charitable giving, and they want to do so now, not after they retire to a life of philanthropic leisure. Generation Impact pulls back the curtain on these rising leaders and their “Impact Revolution,” offering both extensive firsthand accounts and expert analysis of the hands-on, boundary-pushing, unconventional strategies next gen donors are beginning to pursue. This fascinating book also shows another side of the donors in Generation Impact: they want to respect the past even as they transform the future. They are determined to honor the philanthropic legacies and values they’ve inherited by making big giving more effective than ever before. If they succeed, they can make historic progress on causes from education to the environment, from human rights to health care. Based on years of research and close engagement with next gen donors, Generation Impact offers a unique profile of the new faces of philanthropy. Find out, directly from them: How they want to revolutionize giving to expand its positive impact on our lives and our communities. Which causes interest them, how they want to engage with those causes … and, perhaps more important, how they do not want to engage. Which new tools and strategies for change excite them most. What they are learning from previous generations, and what they want to bring to their work alongside those generations. How we can all ensure their historic potential is channeled in ways that make our world better. The Impact Revolution will be messy, but it could also result in solutions for some of our most persistent problems. Generation Impact offers targeted, practical advice to parents, families, and their advisors, as well as nonprofit professionals—those who work closest with these next gen donors—on how to engage, nurture, and encourage them as they reshape major giving and make their mark on history. Help them channel their enthusiasm—and their wealth—to make the most positive difference in a world with such great need.