Wilcox was born on August 21, 1970. As an undergraduate, Wilcox was a Jefferson Scholar at the University of Virginia. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1992. He graduated with a PhD from Princeton University in 2001. He held research fellowships at Princeton University, Yale University, and the Brookings Institution before joining the faculty of the University of Virginia, where he is a Professor of Sociology and director of graduate studies. His sociological research centers on marriage, fatherhood, and cohabitation, particularly on how family structure, civil society, and culture affect the quality and stability of family life, and the ways families shape the economic outcomes of individuals and societies. He teaches undergraduate- and graduate-level courses on statistics, family, and religion.
Work
Wilcox has authored and edited several books, and published numerous articles on marriage, fatherhood, parenting, and religion. His work has appeared in the American Sociological Review, Social Forces, and The Journal of Marriage and Family. He has published articles in more popular venues as well, such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Review, and The Weekly Standard. As director of the National Marriage Project, Wilcox also oversees the publication of an annual report on marriage in America, entitled The State of Our Unions.
In the media
Wilcox's research on marriage, religion, and family life has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, Slate, The Huffington Post, National Review Online, National Journal, National Public Radio, CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, NBC's The Today Show, and numerous other media outlets. His work is also regularly cited in academic publications.
Testimony
In May 2014, Wilcox spoke along with several other experts at a meeting convened by the United Nations as part of the 20th Anniversary of the International Year of the Family. His topic was "The Family in Transition: Should We Be Concerned About Declines in Fertility and Marriage?" Additionally, in February 2015, Wilcox testified before the House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Human Resources about the challenges low-income families face in today's economy.
Debate
In July 2012 Mark Regnerus's newly published study titled "How Different Are the Adult Children of Parents Who Have Same-Sex Relationships? Findings from the New Family Structures Study" prompted much criticism regarding its methodology and allegations that it was influenced by two politically conservative organizations that helped fund the study. Later, James Wright, editor of Social Science Research, identified Paul Amato and W. Bradford Wilcox as two of the three anonymous peer reviewers who vetted the scientific methodology of this study.
Controversy
In May 2016, Wilcox narrated a five minute long video lecture for the YouTube channel PragerU entitled "Be a Man. Get Married" in which he attempts to present an argument as to why marriage is beneficial to men. The video was very poorly received; as of March 2020, the video has received more than twice as many downvotes as upvotes. Wilcox's lecture became a target of ridicule and vitriol via numerous video responses from users who identify as MGTOW or as being part of the Men's Rights movement. Among the criticisms were Wilcox's failure to mention biased family courts that often result in fathers being unjustly cut off from their children as well as divorce settlements that frequently leave men financially ruined. Wilcox was also accused of being condescending and out of touch regarding the current state of the marriage institution. Wilcox attempted to address the grievances in an article for The Federalist.
