Stephanie Coontz: Marriage Today Ain't So Bad

Sara Lerner
07/05/2007 at 8:00 p.m.

Traditional marriage is the kind where men protect their wives, mothers care for their kids, and couples are faithful. Right? No! Historian Stephanie Coontz has the facts. Marriage used to be all kinds of things: like polygamous, chauvinistic and adulterous. But even more interesting: now that marriages are about love, they've become more fragile. Coontz's talk is called Courting Disaster: The Worldwide Revolution in Love, Sex, and Marriage. Stephanie Coontz spoke at Town Hall Seattle on June 6th, 2007. Town Hall Center for Civic Life and Elliott Bay Book Company sponsored her visit.