Judith Stacey (1996) argues that...

• A. Women have more freedom than ever to shape their family arrangements and free themselves from patriarchal oppression.
• B. Women have less freedom than before.
• C. Gender relations have not altered family life.
• D. Men exclusively control family decisions.

Answer: (A)

Judith Stacey focuses on women's autonomy within families and argues that family life is not a fixed, universally patriarchal structure. She contends that in many contexts women now have more freedom to shape their family arrangements, choose different living patterns, and resist oppression, leading to a plural and negotiated range of family forms rather than a single norm. This view highlights that gender relations have shifted and that women's agency can influence domestic arrangements, challenging deterministic ideas about patriarchy. So the statement that women have more freedom than ever to shape their family arrangements and free themselves from patriarchal oppression fits Stacey’s claim about increased female autonomy and diverse family forms. The other options misstate this by implying no change, less freedom, or exclusive male control.