Waubonsee Community College

Not just roommates, cohabitation after the sexual revolution, Elizabeth H. Pleck

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 243-284) and index

plates

index present

non fiction

Not just roommates

bibliography

756577743

Elizabeth H. Pleck

cohabitation after the sexual revolution

"The late twentieth century has seen a fantastic expansion of personal, sexual, and domestic liberties in the United States. In Not Just Roommates, Elizabeth H. Pleck explores the rise of cohabitation, and the changing social norms that have allowed cohabitation to become the chosen lifestyle of more than fifteen million Americans. Despite this growing social acceptance, Pleck contends that when it comes to the law, cohabitors have been, and continue to be, treated as second-class citizens, subjected to discriminatory laws, limited privacy, a lack of political representation, and little hope for change. Because cohabitation is not a sexual identity, Pleck argues, cohabitors face the legal discrimination of a population with no group identity, no civil rights movement, no legal defense organizations, and, often, no consciousness of being discriminated against. Through in-depth research in written sources and interviews, Pleck shines a light on the emergence of cohabitation in American culture, its complex history, and its unpleasant realities in the present day"--Provided by publisher

Introduction -- Night falls in Miami Beach -- Welfare rights -- Coed facing expulsion, 1968 -- From Sheboygan to Madison -- Alternative lifestyle -- Palimony -- Mothers on trial -- Get married or move out -- Domestic partnerships -- Epilogue