For hundreds of years, society has viewed marriage as the only legitimate way to have children. However, as time passes, families and marriages become more estranged, with different social classes having differing opinions on what constitutes a "good" family dynamic. Gerson's Unfinished Revolution focuses primarily on three categorical families: egalitarian, neo-traditional, and autonomous. and one of his arguments states that family ideals are hardly permanent. Gerson notes how the gender revolution is changing family dynamics, particularly as marriage focuses not on the form of the relationship but on the quality. She argues that the gender revolution actually improves family dynamics, particularly egalitarian families where equality is most promoted. It is possible to infer that Gerson actually supports a marriage in which both spouses are equally committed to the home and family, and therefore constitutes the ideal marriage. Crittenden's The Cost of Delayed Marriage describes how delaying marriage and asserting independence has undesirable consequences. She says with age comes a litany of undesirable men and a ticking biological clock, implying that the best time to marry is in your early to mid-twenties, instead of your late twenties. twenties or early thirties, which many women prefer. Crittenden also notes the less obvious consequences of late marriage for women; she claims that delayed marriage does not allow women to fully become adults. She states that it is in typical roles like mother and wife that we find our character and “expand our lives.” Crittenden refers to a woman's biological clock ticking as single women age, implying that women often feel the need to marry first to start a family, which is middle of paper ...... age comes at any age, but children (biological children in any case) depend on the woman, who unfortunately has a biological clock. Therefore, at the very least, family and marriage have Mother Nature as a barrier between them. Works CitedCherlin, Andrew. 2004. “The Deinstitutionalization of American Marriage.” Journal of Marriage and Family. 66: 848-861 Crittenden, Danielle. 1999. “The Cost of Postponing Marriage.” What our mothers didn't tell us: why happiness eludes modern women. Webzine without limits. August 25, 2005. .Edin, Kathryn and Maria Kefalas. 2005. Promises I Can Keep. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Gerson, Kathleen. 2010. The unfinished revolution. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Lareau, Annette. 2003. Unequal childhoods. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.