In our grandparents' time, most women and men committed themselves to each other for better or worse. Today, many men and women struggle to redefine relationships in a society where more women are in the workforce, where divorce is common, and where the marriage commitment is rapidly changing. How did this happen? What opportunities and barriers has it created in women's and men's lives?
Love Stories: Women, Men, & Romance provides both a history of changing attitudes and expectations and a portrait of today's conflicted society — in which the old and new values clash, fueling debates over the lifestyle, sex roles, and birth control.
A feature-length film in 3 sections for easy classroom use — Love Stories can be shown to students in sections: Part I, "Women," documents the growth of feminist values as experienced by 8 women of different ages and from different parts of our society; Part II, "Men," shows male reaction to a changing world; Part III, "Romance," portrays a new dynamic of male/female relations.
Women vs. Men: Quotes from Love Stories:
“She really loved him — there was no such thing as divorce, whether your husband abused you or not you stayed with him. That's what my mother used to say: 'I got married, and he's your father and you respect him.' There was no such thing as telling him off.” — Josephine (71 years)
“The male-female relationship hasn't changed. A man is a man, the dominant personality.” — Spider
“I had this boyfriend from high school — we really thought we'd get married — we broke up my sophomore year and that's when the dream shattered. He wanted different things for my life than I wanted for my life — it was very painful. But I felt that I was going to have endless opportunities — that I could do anything.” — Linda (38 years)
“I felt that I was the teacher, and that if there was any education to be given, she would get it from me. That was a mistake, a real mistake — finding a woman today that sees things eye to eye 50 percent of the time is tough enough. If you can't beat them, join them, because I think it's the only way that males and females are going to reach some understanding today.” — Ernest
“Suitable for high school classes and college courses in cultural anthropology, anthropology of gender, anthropology of kinship, and American studies, as well as for general audiences.” — Jack David Eller, Anthropology Review Database