Sublime

The search for a satisfying sexual partner is a problem all by itself. Another report by the National Marriage Project states: A pornographic media culture may [also] contribute to unrealistic expectations of what their future soul mate should look like. Influenced by the sexy images of young women on MTV, the Internet, and on the runway in televis

Social historian Stephanie Coontz tells that the notions we have of love and indeed marriage today are grossly unrealistic. She asserts that for most of history, the notion of choosing a partner “on the basis of something as fragile and irrational as love and then focus all their sexual, intimate, and altruistic desires on the resulting marriage” i

Avoid sex without commitment, including sex for hire. Cheapening sex by seeking it everywhere and at all times renders it more difficult to form a stable bond with one individual, which is the best predictor of a relationship of equals, in which neither partner feels chronically subservient or undervalued. Instead, seek ecstasy and passion, which a

But there were grounds enough for middle-class anxiety, some of which struck at core features of traditional family life. Maintaining firm domestic control over children, and investing in their educational advancement—key elements in the middle-class life strategy—was feasible for most couples only with small families. Not only were they forgoing e

recognize their increasing sexual and economic emancipation, but to channel those energies into the family.