Why read Wife, Inc.?

Book cover of Wife, Inc.: The Business of Marriage in the Twenty-First Century

Book description

A fascinating look at the changing role of wives in modern America

After a half century of battling for gender equality, women have been freed from the necessity of securing a husband for economic stability, sexual fulfillment, or procreation. Marriage is a choice, and increasingly women (and men) are opting…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Wife, Inc. as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Diane Negra

Author

Popular culture is littered with new archetypes of wifehood, both enacted (the “MILF,” the “trad wife,” the “Mormon Wife”) and aspirational (“I’m Looking for a Man in Finance”).

Leonard’s highly accessible book provides a way of thinking about this taken-for-granted category and places it in a range of critical and historical contexts. One of the most important contributions she makes is to track the emergence of the “professional wife” as a new status designation and revenue raising identity.

From Diane's list on romance, intimacy and media culture.