By attaining more and more education, and thus gaining entry to a wider variety of jobs and more economic independence, American women have proved that the centuries-old subjection of women to men was never rooted in biological differences....

By attaining more and more education, and thus gaining entry to a wider variety of jobs and more economic independence, American women have proved that the centuries-old subjection of women to men was never rooted in biological differences. However, many of our current beliefs and assumptions about sex, gender and status are not actually borne out by statistics. The liberation of women at the end of the 20th century also has led to a sexual revolution which now allows women to express themselves sexually in a more overt manner. Undoubtedly, women and men have benefited from this more frank recognition of sexuality. Still, some traditional views hold: Falk's study of marriage trends includes data showing that even today, twice as many Americans feel it's important for men to be able to support a family than women. He provides a consideration of reasons people marry, changes in the marriage rate; co-habitation vs. marriage; new forms of courtship or searching for a partner; age; interfaith relationships; and other aspects of modern marriage. Falk also provides data demonstrating how the younger generations are being devastated by the removal of out-dated constraints and our failure to replace them with new, meaningful guidelines for conduct to support individuals and continue building a sound society. Many young adults have been badly served by the promotion of sexual behavior together with rampant drinking and using other drugs. Acceptance of this "wild" behavior is particularly visible among our role models such as politicians, entertainers and sports figures. This combination, associated with peer pressure to participate in uncontrolled sex and drinking, has led to injury and death - especially at the so-called party schools which are nothing more than a pretense of higher education. Efforts to curb the unfortunate consequences of sexual liberation for youngsters have concentrated on sex education - but this has proved to be quite a failure. Furthermore, concomitant developments including spikes in the divorce rate, abortion, prostitution and pornography are undermining the ability to form families, thus damaging the fabric of society as a whole. What can adults do to help young people avoid the painful consequences of giving in to the influence of the American media culture? Prof. Falk's books present an abundance of statistics, avoiding moralizing and essayistic pronouncements. His work contains a wealth of solid material which makes his books particularly appropriate for readers seeking an overview of these inter-related topics, and for newcomers to sociology.

...Undoubtedly, American women and men have benefited from this openness to sexual conduct. It is however also evident that many young adults of college age have been badly served by the promotion of sexual behavior associated with drinking alcohol and using other drugs.This combination of early sexual experiences associated with peer pressure to participate in uncontrolled sex and drinking has led to injury and death among college students at the so-called party schools, which are nothing more than a pretense of higher education. Efforts to curb the unfortunate consequences of sexual liberation for youngsters have concentrated on sex education. The evidence is, however, that sex education is a failure. Therefore it is incumbent on American adults to curb the excesses of those too young to recognize the painful consequences of their actions.This book is dedicated to that end, not because we seek the sexual repressions of the past, but because we want to free sexuality from the disasters which so many Americans disregard and which are the consequences of the influence of the American media culture.