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

	Acknowledgments
1	Divorce and the Social Bargain: Child Custody in Historical Context	1
	The Parent-Child Relation	5
	The Family as a Risk-Reducing Institution	9
	Divorce and the Social Bargain	11
	The State's Interest in Children's Welfare	15
	The Historical Roots of the Structure of Indifference	17
2	The Social Construction of the Parent-Child Relation	21
	Marriage as the Basis of Family Structure	23
	The Logic of Custody Laws: Blackstone on Parent-Child 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
3	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 Motherhood-Childhood Link	46
	The Presumed Connection to Custody: Gathering the Strands of Explanation	51
	Paternal-Maternal Equipoise	52
	The Rhetoric of the Best Interest of the Child	53
	Concern with Incentives	56
	Returning to the Central Historical Question	56
4	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 State's Interest in Divorce	61
	The Sense of Urgency Occasioned by Rising Divorce Rates	64
	Divorce in the United States, 1867-1920	65
	Cause of Divorce and Custody of Children	72
	Debates about the Divorce Problem and Its Implication for Children	75
	The Class Character of Divorce	82
5	Longer Life But No Jobs: The Dilemma for Women following Divorce	91
	Life Expectancy for Women	91
	Age-Specific 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
6	Financial Obligations to Fathers, Education to the State
	Parcelling the Needs of Children	109
	Maternalist Social Policies in the United States	110
	Reiteration of the Father's Private Obligation	113
	Transferring Education to the State	113
	Unintended Consequences	117
7	The Structure of Indifference	119
	Reassessing the Social Bargain	123
	What to Do? Assessments of Proposed Child Custody Alternatives	125
	A Child-Centric Alternative	133
	Circumventing the Structure of Indifference	140
	References	143
	Index	151