Stephanie Coontz is a marriage and family history expert at the Evergreen State College. She’s the author of many books on relationships and marriage, including “The Way We Never Were”. Coontz has spent decades studying the history of marriage and says most of the ideas we have about that institution are completely backwards.
In this conversation with Sound Effect producer Kevin Kniestedt, she started with one of the biggest myths of all: that traditional marriages rely on a man to support the family.
Coontz also shared how historically, marriages were not based on love, but on arrangements to benefit the family. Families from all classes were looking to improve their current situation, and by having their child marry in to a family of a greater status, they, in turn would benefit.
Coontz also shared some misconceptions about modern day relationships, as well as how parents have to return the focus to each other after the child has left the nest. She wraps up the conversation by sharing a moment where she applied some of her research to her own relationship.
