Child Custody, Law, and Women's Work

Book excerpt: Reform of child custody law has been a controversial topic in Canada since the mid-1980s. Within her book Susan Boyd argues that debates over child custody issues are rooted in gender-based dynamics within the family and society. She examines how custody law has evolved over the past twocenturies, with a focus on the relationship between the law and gender relations-in particular, the power relations between women and men in the heterosexual family; the dominant ideologies about motherhood, fatherhood, and family; and the differential value attributed to men's and women's work, inboth private and public spheres. Overall, this essential text questions the extent to which reform of child custody law on its own can lead to effective social transformation of parenting.