Towards a Structure of Indifference: The Social Origins of Maternal Custody

Debra Friedman

Transaction Publishers - Medical - 154 pages

In the forty years between 1880 and 1920, the presumption that divorced and separated fathers in normal circumstances should be granted the custody of their children was changed in all Western countries that permitted divorce. New laws where passed that soon gave way to the almost certain award of child custody to mothers.

This book, a study of that change in presumption of custody, addresses two fundamental questions. The first, straightforwardly empirical, is: Why has a shift of that magnitude and importance been lost to the public memory in less than a hundred years? The second is more abstract: Why did the dominant group, the fathers, cede rights to the mothers without duress -- indeed, without concerted political or collective action of any kind?.

Prior attempts to account for the change in custody failed because they underestimated the role played by the state in each instance, and ignored the class character of divorce of the period. Friedman's own account begins by examining the considerable pressures brought to bear by rapidly rising divorce rates in England, France, and the United States. Maternal custody arose as a by-product of the state's concerns about the potential for a vastly increased welfare burden imposed by financially dependent women following divorce. During the transition, responsibility for children's welfare was diffused, with mothers becoming responsible for nurture, fathers for financial support, and states for schooling. Ultimately this led to a structure of indifference, with striking consequences for the welfare of children after divorce.

Contents

• Divorce and the Social Bargain Child Custody in Historical Context: 1
• The ParentChild Relation: 5
• The Family as a RiskReducing Institution: 9
• Divorce and the Social Bargain: 11
• The States Interest in Childrens Welfare: 15
• The Historical Roots of the Structure of Indifference: 17
• The Social Construction of the ParentChild Relation: 21
• Marriage as the Basis of Family Structure: 23
• Blackstone on ParentChild Relations: 24
• Paternal Presumption in Child Custody following Divorce: 27
• Challenges to Paternal Preference in England and the United States: 29
• Consequences for the Security of Children: 33
• Received Explanations for the Change to Maternal Preference in Child Custody: 37
• The Differentiation of Roles and the Emphasis on Motherhood: 38
• The Connection between Motherhood and Childhood Socialization: 39
• Who Benefited from the Emphasis on Motherhood?: 40
• Consequences for Custody Decisions: 41
• Received Knowledge on the Subject of the Change in Child Custody Laws: 42
• The Consequences for Custody of the MotherhoodChildhood Link: 46
• Gathering the Strands of Explanation: 51
• PaternalMaternal Equipoise: 52
• The Rhetoric of the Best Interest of the Child: 53
• Concern with Incentives: 56
• The Pressure of the Rising Divorce Rate: 59
• The Importance of Divorce Rates for the Shift in Preference for Mothers over Fathers in Custody: 60
• The States Interest in Divorce: 61
• The Sense of Urgency Occasioned by Rising Divorce Rates: 64
• Divorce in the United States 18671920: 65
• Cause of Divorce and Custody of Children: 72
• Debates about the Divorce Problem and Its Implications for Children: 75
• The Class Character of Divorce: 82
• Conclusion: 86
• Longer Life But No Jobs The Dilemma for Women following Divorce: 91
• AgeSpecific Marital Status in France and England: 96
• Why Not Remarry?: 98
• Household Composition: 101
• Disadvantage of Women in the Labor Market: 104
• Married and Divorced Women in the Labor Force: 105
• Who Would Care for the Women and Children following Divorce?: 106
• Financial Obligations to Fathers Education to the State Parcelling the Needs of Children: 109
• Maternalist Social Policies in the United States1: 110
• Reiteration of the Fathers Private Obligation: 113
• Unintended Consequences: 117
• The Structure of Indifference: 119
• Reassessing the Social Bargain: 123
• What to Do? Assessments of Proposed Child Custody Alternatives: 125
• A ChildCentric Alternative: 133
• Circumventing the Structure of Indifference: 140
• References: 143
• Index: 151

Bibliographic information

• Title: Towards a Structure of Indifference: The Social Origins of Maternal Custody; Sociology and Economics
• Author: Debra Friedman
• Publisher: Transaction Publishers
• ISBN: 141284021X, 9781412840217
• Length: 154 pages
• Subjects: Family & Relationships / Divorce & Separation; Medical / General; Social Science / Gender Studies