Article

The Allocation of Household Labor by Partners in Gay and Lesbian Couples

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Abstract

This study examined how full-time employed partners from 43 gay and 36 lesbian couples allocated labor for six household tasks typically performed by women in heterosexual couples. Although the relative frequency of performing household labor within the couple did not differ between gay and lesbian partners, compared to gay partners, lesbian partners reported that more tasks were done equally often by both partners. The relative frequency of performing household labor was related to interest in household labor, even with controls for skill in performing household labor. Satisfaction with the division of household labor exerted its effect on both relationship satisfaction and relationship stability through perceived equality in the relationship.

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... Existing studies addressing household labour are mostly survey-based, or use large national data sets, with few using qualitative interviews and even less using dyadic level data [39,40]. Where surveys were employed, such as in studies completed by Kurdek [40] and Civettini [41], questions focused predominantly on the allocation of specific tasks and asked members of the couple to complete surveys individually. ...
... Existing studies addressing household labour are mostly survey-based, or use large national data sets, with few using qualitative interviews and even less using dyadic level data [39,40]. Where surveys were employed, such as in studies completed by Kurdek [40] and Civettini [41], questions focused predominantly on the allocation of specific tasks and asked members of the couple to complete surveys individually. Goldberg [9] found a gap in the literature during their systematic review which highlighted the need for qualitative research in non-U.S contexts. ...
... Kurdek [40] employed surveys with American same-gender couples to examine the relative frequency of performance of housework tasks. They did not examine cognitive labour within any of the chosen tasks. ...
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Objective This study explored how cognitive labour as a form of unpaid, household labour is performed by people in same-gender couples. Background Excessive performance of unpaid labour has been associated with several health impacts. Cognitive labour (anticipating needs, identifying options for meeting needs, making decisions and monitoring progress) is an underexamined dimension of unpaid labour which has centered on the experiences of heterosexual couples. Method Dyadic and individual interviews were carried out to explore how cognitive labour was performed in same-gender couples between March and October 2021 using an inductive methodology. Adults who were in a same-gender couple, had lived with their partner for at least six months, were not living with children were recruited largely via social media. Results Examining cognitive labour performance amongst same-gender couples revealed four key themes: 1) habitually fostered patterns of trust; 2) agency in redefining family; 3) barriers to cognitive harmony; and 4) facilitators to cognitive harmony. Findings regarding the relationships between themes are presented in a narrative model. Dyadic interviews allowed for deep, narratives relating to cognitive labour performance. Conclusions The narrative model provides new conceptual understanding of how cognitive labour is performed outside of the heteronormative sphere. Couple’s adoption of a strengths-based frame to cognitive labour performance removed the opposition inherent in gender dichotomies. These findings support calls for research to incorporate social change to build and refine theory, including how queer and feminist movements have challenged gendered and heteronormative family and household roles.
... These family-related 'pull' factors towards solo and part-time self-employment may not be as relevant for sexual minority women (Jepsen & Jepsen, 2016;. Lesbian women, for example, have lower rates of parenthood and more egalitarian divisions of household labour than heterosexual women (Baumle, 2009;Goldberg et al., 2012;Kurdek, 2007;Waite & Denier, 2015). Indeed, research shows that parenthood is a significant predictor of selfemployment for partnered heterosexual women, but not partnered lesbian women (Leppel, 2016;. ...
... While heterosexual women commonly engage in self-employment for the flexibility it affords for balancing work and family, these family-related 'pull' factors are not as relevant for sexual minority men and women who are more likely to be single, have lower rates of parenthood and more egalitarian divisions of household labour than heterosexual men and women (Aksoy et al., 2018;Baumle, 2009;Black et al., 2007;Goldberg et al., 2012;Kurdek, 2007;Waite & Denier, 2015). However, prior research on sexual minority self-employment used analytic samples generated from couple data that were limited to partnered individuals. ...
... First, the self-employment literature argues that heterosexual women often engage in self-employment (particularly solo and part-time) to balance the dual responsibilities of work and family (Cranford et al., 2005;Ebbers & Piper, 2017;Hughes & Jennings, 2019;Hughes et al., 2012;Leung, 2011) and prior research indeed finds a significant positive relationship between self-employment and being partnered or having a child for heterosexual women, but not for lesbian women (Jepsen & Jepsen, 2016;. This may indicate the absence of family-related 'pull' factors towards self-employment for lesbian women (Jepsen & Jepsen, 2016;, which is also consistent with prior research which finds that lesbian women have lower rates of parenthood and more egalitarian divisions of household labour in partnerships than heterosexual women (Baumle, 2009;Goldberg et al., 2012;Kurdek, 2007;Waite & Denier, 2015). While the results from the current study corroborate prior research and show that being partnered is insignificantly related to self-employment for lesbian women, they also show it is positively related for bisexual women. ...
Article
Early studies and theory suggest sexual minorities are drawn towards the relative independence of self-employment to avoid discrimination in paid employment. However, recent evidence is mixed, suggesting that a higher propensity for self-employment (relative to heterosexual people) is found only among lesbian women relative to heterosexual women. This study overcomes the data limitations of prior research by using data pooled from 2007-2017 cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) and multivariate logistic regression to provide new evidence on LGB self-employment. The results show that self-employment is particularly high for bisexual people, especially bisexual women-but not for gay men or lesbian women. Overall, this study examines the enduring but nuanced relationship between self-employment and sexual orientation and discusses countervailing factors related to socio-economic resources, gender, and family structure.
... The study of sexual minority women's intimate relationships (e.g., those who identify as lesbian or bisexual) has become increasingly common in recent decades (Kimberly & Williams, 2017; sexual orientation (e.g., division of labor, sexual satisfaction, communication) and have noted the ways in which these characteristics relate to relationship quality and satisfaction. In particular, research has consistently found that, on average, women partnered with women are happier and more satisfied in their intimate relationships than women partnered with men (Garcia & Umberson, 2019;Holway et al., 2018;Kurdek, 2007). Women partnered with women have historically been assumed to identify as lesbian. ...
... Much of this work has demonstrated that women partnered with women experience better relationship outcomes, such as higher relationship quality, lower relationship strain, and increased sexual satisfaction compared to heterosexual women (Garcia et al., 2014;Garcia & Umberson, 2019;Perales & Baxter, 2018). For instance, women in same-sex relationships tend to be more egalitarian in their division of household labor such as chores and childcare compared to heterosexual couples (Goldberg et al., 2012;Kurdek, 2007;Tornello, Kruczkowski, et al., 2015), and more equal division of labor has been associated with better relationship quality for these women (Kurdek, 2007;Tornello, Kruczkowski, et al., 2015;Tornello, Sonnenberg, et al., 2015). Additionally, women in same-sex partnerships tend to report higher levels of emotional intimacy than heterosexual couples, as a result of perceiving shared activities, values, and willingness to discuss commitment to one another (Rostosky & Riggle, 2017a). ...
... Much of this work has demonstrated that women partnered with women experience better relationship outcomes, such as higher relationship quality, lower relationship strain, and increased sexual satisfaction compared to heterosexual women (Garcia et al., 2014;Garcia & Umberson, 2019;Perales & Baxter, 2018). For instance, women in same-sex relationships tend to be more egalitarian in their division of household labor such as chores and childcare compared to heterosexual couples (Goldberg et al., 2012;Kurdek, 2007;Tornello, Kruczkowski, et al., 2015), and more equal division of labor has been associated with better relationship quality for these women (Kurdek, 2007;Tornello, Kruczkowski, et al., 2015;Tornello, Sonnenberg, et al., 2015). Additionally, women in same-sex partnerships tend to report higher levels of emotional intimacy than heterosexual couples, as a result of perceiving shared activities, values, and willingness to discuss commitment to one another (Rostosky & Riggle, 2017a). ...
Article
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Sexual minority women are granted more rights today than ever before. However, it is unclear how the relationships of sexual minority women have changed compared to previous decades. Additionally, a large body of work has focused on women's same-sex (e.g., lesbian) relationships without accounting for the unique experiences of bisexual women in their relationships. The current study utilizes two national samples of heterosexual, lesbian, and bisexual women to address these gaps, one cohort from 1995 and a second from 2013. We performed analyses of variance (ANOVAs) to examine the effects of sexual orientation, cohort, and their interaction on relationship support and strain. On average, relationships exhibited higher quality in 2013 than in 1995. When considered together, lesbian and bisexual women exhibited higher relationship support than heterosexual women in 1995, but not 2013. Importantly, examining lesbian and bisexual women as separate groups revealed that bisexual women's relationships were on average characterized by lower support and higher strain than lesbian women. Simple effects indicated that bisexual women in 2013 were at the highest risk for diminished relationship quality, while lesbian and heterosexual women's relationships were either stable or improved in this more recent cohort. Implications for clinical practice as well as future research on sexual minority women is discussed.
... Previous research on same-sex couples' labor allocation has focused mainly on lesbian couples with children (Brewster, 2017;Ciano-Boyce & Shelley-Sireci, 2003;Goldberg & Perry-Jenkins, 2007), whereas only a few focused on gay male couples and on comparing gay male to lesbian couples (Jaspers & Verbakel, 2013;Perlesz et al., 2010;Solomon et al., 2005). Often these studies are based on small sample sizes and examine household tasks (e.g., Kurdek, 2007) or paid labor (e.g., Jaspers & Verbakel, 2013). This study contributes by comparing male and female couples in a relatively large sample (N ¼ 723) and looks at how couples organize paid as well as household labor. ...
... The second explanation often applied to same-sex couples in the literature is that they have a greater adherence to equity norms and are therefore more committed to dividing tasks equally (Ciano-Boyce & Shelley-Sireci, 2003;Downing & Goldberg, 2011;Kurdek, 2007). When comparing male and female same-sex couples, this explanation also falls short, in two respects. ...
... If we then compare same-sex male couples to same-sex female couples, we expect that, on average, female couples will divide their domestic tasks more equally than male couples. A small number of studies based on small sample sizes have supported this expectation (Blumstein & Schwartz, 1983;Johnson & O'Connor, 2002;Kurdek, 2007). ...
Article
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This study concerns how male and female same-sex couples across countries organize their paid and household labor. Using unique data compiled from multiple national surveys in 7 western countries (N = 723), we examined same-sex couples’ paid and household task allocation and evaluate descriptively how this is associated with countries’ gender egalitarianism. For paid labor, results indicate that female same-sex couples spend less time in total on paid employment than male same-sex couples, but both male and female same-sex couples divide their hours of paid employment equally. For household labor, we find that female couples divide their household tasks more equally than male couples. Moreover, more gender egalitarian countries appear to be correlated to increasing differences between male and female same-sex couples’ total time spent on the labor market and to decreasing differences in how equal they divide their household labor. These findings suggest that larger, society-wide, gender regimes might be an important avenue for future research when studying same-sex couples paid and unpaid labor.
... This increases work effort and earnings for men but decreases both for women. Same-sex couples have a more egalitarian division of labor (Goldberg, Smith, & Perry-Jenkins, 2012;Jaspers & Verbakel, 2013;Kurdek, 2007;Prickett, Martin-Storey, & Crosnoe, 2015), which may reduce work effort and earnings for coupled gay men but increase both for lesbian women. These differences in market-based specialization might explain why estimates of sexual minority wage gaps are more pronounced when using couple data compared to estimates from surveys with direct questions on sexual orientation, which include samples of single LGB individuals. ...
... Same-sex couples tend to have a more egalitarian division of labor and specialize less than heterosexual couples (Giddings, Nunley, Schneebaum, & Zietz, 2014;Goldberg et al., 2012;Jaspers & Verbakel, 2013;Jepsen & Jepsen, 2015;Kurdek, 2007;Murray-Close, 2010;Prickett, Martin-Storey, & Crosnoe, 2015;Smart, Brown, & Taylor, 2017;Ueno, Grace, & Saras, 2019). Smart et al. (2017) found that coupled gay men spent more time and coupled lesbians spent less time, on household duties than their heterosexual counterparts. ...
... For gay men and lesbians, partnership is associated with lower labor supply but to a lesser extent than it is for heterosexual women. This is likely because of a more egalitarian division of labor in same-sex households, which reduces gay men's work effort and increases lesbian women's (Goldberg et al., 2012;Jaspers & Verbakel, 2013;Kurdek, 2007;Prickett et al., 2015). ...
Article
There is a growing body of literature on the labor market outcomes of gay, lesbian and bisexual (LGB) individuals. To date, much of this literature has relied on samples of same- and different-sex couples, such as those drawn from censuses, to study gay men and lesbian women’s labor market outcomes. By design, these studies exclude single people and cannot identify bisexual people, who may be single or partnered with someone of the same or different sex. This could provide a biased assessment of sexual minority wage gaps if same-sex couples differ from single gay, lesbian, and bisexual people in ways that impact their employment and earnings. Our study overcomes these limitations by using ten cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey, which includes a direct question on sexual orientation, large samples, and income and employment measures. We estimate sexual orientation-based income and employment disparities and also use coarsened exact matching (CEM) to improve the balance between our comparison groups, reducing unobserved heterogeneity and improving the precision of our estimates. We find that heterosexual women and LGB individuals are less likely to be working full-time than heterosexual men. Coupled gay men, but not single gay men, earn significantly less than heterosexual men. Single and coupled lesbian women earn more than comparable heterosexual women. Bisexual men and women have some of the worst employment outcomes, with incomes that are significantly less than everyone else.
... The ways in which cisgender heterosexual couples divide their unpaid labor are often shaped by gender constructions and roles (Erickson, 2005). Same-sex couples, on the other hand, seem to assign these tasks based on personal preferences and negotiation rather than gender (Kurdek, 2007). For TGNB people, is the division of unpaid labor based on gender role assumptions or couple gender design? ...
... Another aspect of family life that can be affected by the division of labor is relationship satisfaction or functioning. Greater perceived equalities or discrepancies in the division of unpaid labor have been associated with negative relationship outcomes among heterosexual couples (Coltrane, 2000;Saginak and Saginak, 2005;Mikula et al., 2012) and lesbian and gay couples (Kurdek, 2007;Sutphin, 2010;Tornello et al., 2015a). Among childfree same-sex couples, greater satisfaction with how the couple divides their unpaid labor was associated with greater relationship satisfaction (Sutphin, 2010). ...
... (3) Explore the relationships between division of labor discrepancies and individual well-being, relationship satisfaction, and children's behavioral outcomes. Household and childcare division of labor discrepancies, not current division of labor, will directly predict individual (Goldberg and Smith, 2008;Tornello et al., 2015b) and couple functioning (Kurdek, 2007;Sutphin, 2010;Tornello et al., 2015a), but not children's outcomes (Tornello et al., 2015b). ...
Article
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The division of unpaid labor is an important aspect in understanding co-parenting dynamics, along with individual well-being, couple functioning, and family dynamics. This study explores the division of household and childcare unpaid labor, well-being, relationship functioning, and child behavioral outcomes in 163 transgender and gender non-binary (TGNB) parents. Research exploring the division of labor among cisgender heterosexual couples has found that cisgender women in heterosexual couples disproportionately conduct more of the household and childcare labor (e.g., Lachance-Grzela and Bouchard, 2010). In addition, among heterosexual (e.g., Lachance-Grzela and Bouchard, 2010) and same-sex couples (Tornello et al., 2015b), discrepancies in the division of unpaid labor has been associated with individual well-being, along with couple functioning. We know very little about the factors that predict how labor is divided, along with the impact these arrangements among of families headed by TGNB parents. In this study, TGNB parents reported dividing their household and childcare labor in an egalitarian fashion and wanted to divide their labor in that way. The gender of participants, gender design of the couple, educational attainment, and legal status of the couple’s relationship were not associated with the division of unpaid labor. In contrast, participants who reported making a lower proportion of the household income, worked less hours in paid employment, and were genetically related to their eldest child, reported completing significantly more childcare-related tasks, but not household labor. Using multiple regressions, participants’ genetic relatedness to their eldest child was the only significant predictor of performing greater unpaid childcare labor. Lastly, discrepancies in the household, but not childcare labor, predicted parental well-being and couple functioning. The division of labor among TGNB couples was unrelated to their child behavior outcomes. This study not only sheds light on the dynamics of TGNB-headed families, but also additional factors that influence the division of unpaid labor and how this division affects individuals within the family system.
... Thus, we hypothesized that coparenting variables would generally be associated, such that more undermining coparenting would be associated with less supportive coparenting, both across and within time points. We also expected patterns of divisions of labor (e.g., sharing vs. specialization), and satisfaction with them, to be significantly associated over time (e.g., Goldberg & Perry-Jenkins, 2007;Kurdek, 2007). As few studies of LG parenting couples have tracked divisions of labor over time, however, this hypothesis was exploratory. ...
... Our findings contrast somewhat with previous results among this sample indicating that heterosexual couples were more likely than LG couples to specialize in childcare tasks when children were in early childhood (Farr & Patterson, 2013). Although few studies of adoptive or LG parents have tracked divisions of labor longitudinally, Kurdek (2007) found that LG couples sometimes become more fixed or specialized in their divisions of labor over time. Research among heterosexual couples This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. ...
... Our second hypothesis found support in that several coparenting variables were associated across time. As expected from several studies indicating some stability in division of labor patterns over time among LG couples (e.g., Goldberg & Perry-Jenkins, 2007;Kurdek, 2007), satisfaction with divisions of household and childcare labor were associated within and across waves. Research with heterosexual couples has often found that satisfaction with division of labor is linked with overall marital satisfaction (e.g., Coltrane, 2000); similar results have also been found among sexual minority couples (Chan et al., 1998). ...
Article
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This longitudinal study examined coparenting and child adjustment during early and middle childhood (Ms = 3 and 8 years, respectively) among 106 lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parent adoptive families. When children were in middle childhood, no differences emerged as a function of parental sexual orientation in observations or self-reports of coparenting; in addition, parents and teachers described children as well-adjusted overall. After controlling covariates, including couple relationship adjustment, more supportive coparenting in early childhood predicted fewer parent-reported child internalizing and externalizing problems in middle childhood. Within middle childhood, stronger parenting alliance was associated with fewer parent-reported child externalizing problems. These findings indicate the value of considering family processes among diverse families in contributing to child outcomes over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
... In the case where biology is not a factor for either partner (i.e., in the case of adoption or fostering), lesbian and gay parents were more equal in their division of family labor than heterosexual adoptive parents . Furthermore, there is some indication that lesbians may be more equal in their division of household labor than gay men (Kurdek, 2007). When there was an inequity in the division of housework among same-sex adoptive parents, Goldberg et al. (2012) found that it was related to differences in paid work hours and income. ...
... Interestingly, inequity was more likely to occur in traditionally feminine tasks (e.g., laundry, cleaning, cooking, making beds, etc.) and less likely to occur with childcare, as it was seen as more valued by same-sex parents. While some research suggests division of household labor appears to be less related to relationship quality and satisfaction for same-sex parents than for heterosexual parents (especially mothers) (Rothblum, 2017), others have found that an equitable (or at least perceived equitable) division of household labor is associated with increased relationship satisfaction and stability for lesbian and gay parents (Kurdek, 2007). ...
Chapter
After reviewing the literature on the ABCs of the transition to parenthood, we turn to underrepresented parent populations. First, we review the literature on same-sex parents and their affective, behavioral, and cognitive transition to parenthood. Next, we explore the limited literature on adoptive parents which often overlaps with LGBTQ parenting. Finally, we discuss the common(but little studied) transition to single parenthood. As with the adoptive parenting literature, most of the single parent literature focuses on the issues faced years after the transition, but much remains unclear about the transition period to being a single parent.KeywordsSame-sex parentsAdoptive parentsSingle parentsUnderrepresented parentsLGBTQ
... Regarding domestic work, same-sex couples tend to embody a more egalitarian structure of household and childcare tasks, dividing them more equally between partners in comparison to heterosexual couples (Bauer, 2016;Giddings et al., 2014;Patterson, Sutfin & Fulcher, 2004). However, gay couples in comparison to lesbian couples are more prone to have problems when allocating chores, because men are generally disinclined to do what has always been considered women's work (Blumstein & Schwartz, 1983;Brewster, 2017;Kurdek, 2007). Gay and lesbians couples have different experiences due to mainstream gender roles and heteronormativity (Libson, 2012). ...
... Regarding domestic work, gender is also considered a driving predictor of relationship experiences. Following the literature (Blumstein, & Schwartz, 1983;Brewster, 2017;Kurdek, 2007) gay couples reported difficulties to allocate chores and men without children were the group most dissatisfied with the fairness of their division, while the lesbian couples described dividing household chores equally. The necessary workload to maintain a household comprises domestic labor and paid labor. ...
Article
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This article examines same-sex couples as a sign of the Second Demographic Transition, investigating how gay and lesbian couples living together in Brasília build their family, whether they intend to have children, and what challenges they face. We conducted semi-structured interviews online to investigate the family formation process and parenting intentions of 42 couples living together in Brasília in 2019, 20 lesbian and 22 gay couples. The organizing themes in the interviews were marriage, children, work, and stigma. This study advances existing scholarship on families by articulating points of connection between the legal institution of same-sex marriage in Brazil, changing social norms regarding family life, and parental gender expectations as signs of the Second Demographic Transition. Studying same-sex couples contribute to a more complex understanding of the family, the gendered division of labor, and the dimension of fertility and parenting intentions.
... Consequently, they enjoy a higher financial independence compared with their heterosexual counterparts. Attitudinally, lesbian couples adhere to a more egalitarian ethic in their relationships than other couple types (Kurdek 2007;Solomon et al. 2005). Regarding the household division of labour, Grossbard and Jepsen (2008) propose that partner equality is likely to be the greatest in lesbian couples. ...
... But, no evidence emerged that being legally married positively predicts the life satisfaction of Canadian lesbians. The latter outcome also appears plausible, in light of several strands of past literature (Cialdini and Goldstein 2004;Huang et al. 2011;Grossbard and Jepsen 2008;Kurdek 2007). ...
Article
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The ‘cohabitation gap’ refers to the generally higher life satisfaction of married spouses compared with those who cohabit without being married. The effects of sexual orientation on the cohabitation gap has thus far received no scholarly attention. Exploiting the unique opportunity offered by the Canadian General Social Surveys, the present paper examines how sexual orientation relates to the cohabitation gap for the first time. The data used in this study covers 2010 to 2015, and the life satisfaction gaps are both cardinally and ordinally measured. Regardless of the measurement approach, the cohabitation gap is found to be the largest for gay males and non-existent for lesbians. There is a cohabitation gap for heterosexuals, which is somewhat larger for females. Various explanations are discussed.
... Several studies conclude that the dynamics of families formed by LGBTIQ+ people do not differ from those of families formed by Cisgender Heterosexual Couples (CHC) in several relevant aspects (Borneskog et al., 2014;Ducharme & Kollar, 2012;Kurdek, 2005Kurdek, , 2008Quam et al., 2010). Couples formed by LGBTIQ+ people present better indicators than couples formed by CHC in variables such as negotiation on the distribution of housework and forms of conflict resolution (Kurdek, 2005(Kurdek, , 2007. ...
Article
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In this article, we analyze and discuss the emotional dimension that LGBT people associate with the exercise of motherhood/fatherhood. Based on feminist theory and subalternity and intersectionality theory contributions, we applied the biographical method to a dialogical-recursive investigative process. Participants were 21 LGBT people and key informants, belonging to academia, psychotherapy, politics, and diversity activism, over 18 years old, from Chile (16), Mexico (4), and Colombia (1); the participants were people between 21 and 57 years of age, with a mean age of 37.19 and a standard deviation of 10.03. We found emotions related to the social mandate to "be a good mother/father"; emotions resulting from social situations such as discrimination and legal lack of protection, and emotions derived from the parenting experience. We conclude that repression/resistance dynamics go through the bodies, and emotions are fundamental to this incarnation. Given this, the development of research focused on emotion can open ways to achieve more just societies through cultivated sentimentality, societies aware of the type of bonds that keep us as worthy members of a society and the performative effect of our emotional demands. En el presente artículo analizamos y discutimos la dimension emocional que las personas LGBT asocian al ejercicio de la maternidad/paternidad. Basadas en las teorías feministas y las contribuciones de la subalternidad y la interseccionalidad, aplicamos el método biográfico, en un proceso de investigación dialógico-recursivo. Las personas participantes fueron 21 personas LGBT e informantes clave, pertenecientes a la academia, la psicoterapia, la política, y el activismo de la diversidad, de Chile (16), Mexico (4), y Colombia (1); entre 21 y 57 años, con una media de edad de 37.19 y una desviación estándar de 10.03. Encontramos emociones relacionadas al mandato social de “ser una buena madre/un buen padre”; emociones resultantes de la situación de desprotección social y legal; y emociones devenidas de la experiencia de parentalidad. Concluimos que las dinámicas de represión/resistencia atraviesan los cuerpos y las emociones son un aspecto fundamental de esta encarnación; dado ello, el desarrollo de investigaciones enfocadas en emociones puede abrir caminos para alcanzar sociedades más justas a través del cultivo de la sentimentalidad como elemento base de las relaciones que nos mantienen como miembros dignos de la sociedad y considerando el efecto performativo de las demandas emocionales.
... Women are simultaneously burdened with two expectations-those of the employer and those of the family-which can be cited as a further reason for structural gender inequality (Arroyo, 2020, p. 182;Wajcman, 2004). It is striking that studies about queer or non-heterosexual couples find that the distribution of work and care tasks is far more egalitarian (Buschner, 2014;Kurdek, 2007). ...
Article
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In the digitalization debate, gender biases in digital technologies play a significant role because of their potential for social exclusion and inequality. It is therefore remarkable that organizations as drivers of digitalization and as places for social integration have been widely overlooked so far. Simultaneously, gender biases and digitalization have structurally immanent connections to organizations. Therefore, a look at the reciprocal relationship between organizations, digitalization, and gender is needed. The article provides answers to the question of whether and how organizations (re)produce, reinforce, or diminish gender‐specific inequalities during their digital transformations. On the one hand, gender inequalities emerge when organizations use post‐bureaucratic concepts through digitalization. On the other hand, gender inequalities are reproduced when organizations either program or implement digital technologies and fail to establish control structures that prevent gender biases. This article shows that digitalization can act as a catalyst for inequality‐producing mechanisms, but also has the potential to mitigate inequalities. We argue that organizations must be considered when discussing the potential of exclusion through digitalization.
... Research on same-sex couples also presents an interesting challenge for existing theoretical models, which are based on a normative model of heterosexual spouses that plugs into the wider framework of gender inequality. There is no reason to directly transpose this model onto same-sex couples, and, indeed, there is evidence that same-sex couples share child care and housework more equally than heterosexual couples (Evertsson et al. in this volume;Goldberg 2013;Kurdek 2007). ...
... In the case of same-sex partners, sample size is always of concern given that survey designs of large scale representative national samples rarely account for their relatively small population size by over-sampling, as often done with other minority groups. Thus, most previous quantitative studies of same-sex partners use no more than a few dozen cases (e.g., Bauer, 2016;Kurdek, 2007) or non-representative samples (e.g., Solomon et al., 2005). In this respect, to the best of our knowleage, ATUS is the best available option (see also Hofmarcher & Plug, 2022), enabling us to utilize a representative sample of US population, and reach an adequately generalizable sample of 283 lesbian and 227 gay respondents (Hair et al., 2019). ...
Article
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Research on the division of housework among same-sex partners is limited. This is because gender-cultural theories – which emphasize the significance of gender identity and motivate many studies on the topic – are implicitly assumed to be less relevant in this case. Attending to admonitions that the division of housework in same-sex households is not free from gendering processes and practices, in this study we use the high-quality data of the American Time Use Survey (ATUS; 2003-2019), to compare the association between housework and relative earnings across partnership types. Since gender-cultural theories are based on the performance of gender identity by different-sex partners, we utilize the differences between same- and different-sex partners to better understand the effect of gender-cultural determinants on the division of housework. Our comparison of the relation across partnership-types validates the power of gender-cultural mechanisms in different-sex partners, provides a better assessment of the differences in housework patterns between different types of households, and serves as a novel quantitative test of gender-cultural mechanisms in same-sex partners.
... Indeed, studies that compared same-sex couples to different-sex couples have found that same-sex couples distribute housework more equally than their heterosexual counterparts (see Goldberg 2013 for a review). It has also been reported that compared with different-sex couples, specialisation is less common in male (e.g., Goldberg 2010; Kurdek 1993Kurdek , 2007Perlesz et al. 2010) and in female same-sex couples (e.g., Aldén et al. 2015;Antecol and Steinberger 2013;Evertsson and Boye 2018;Perlesz et al. 2010). This pattern has been found in several countries (Bauer 2016;Evertsson and Boye 2018;Jaspers and Verbakel 2013;Moberg 2016;Perlesz et al. 2010; Van der Vleuten et al. 2021). ...
Chapter
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In this chapter, family sociological theories and research on different-sex couples are discussed from the perspective of same-sex couples’ division of work and care before and after (any) transition to parenthood. Our focus is primarily on research from the United States, the Netherlands, and the four bigger Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. These were among the first countries to legalise same-sex marriage and parenthood. Theories and previous research indicate that the partners in same-sex couples are less likely than the partners in different-sex couples to specialise in paid and unpaid work, and are more likely to share childcare responsibilities and family leave entitlements. Still, identity formation and gender influence these couples as well, even if these factors are less likely to determine the division of work and care between the partners. In conclusion, we call for more synergies of disciplines and for traditional family sociology to acknowledge the important inroads made by research on same-sex couples.
... Empirical outcomes indicate that being in a same-sex relationship is a more important predictor of an equal division of labor than having similar incomes (Shechory & Ziv 2007;Solomon et al. 2005) and specialization is rare (Aldén et al. 2015). An often quoted rationale is that same-sex couples more strongly adhere to equity norms and are therefore more committed to dividing tasks equally (Ciano-Boyce & Shelley-Sireci 2003;Downing & Goldberg 2011;Kurdek 2007;Patterson 1995). However, this explanation falls short in two respects. ...
... While gay and lesbian couples identify areas of relational conflict that are similar to heterosexual couples (Kurdek, 1994), they also perceive their relationships as more equitable (Kurdek, 2007). Additionally, heterosexual women report lower levels of sexual desire than non-heterosexual women (Holmberg & Blair, 2009), including bisexual and pansexual women (Vowels et al., 2020). ...
Article
Previous investigations into Female Sexual Desire (FSD) have been focused on women's biological, cognitive, and emotional processes, despite evidence that FSD is also responsive to relational contexts. Past research consistently demonstrates a general association between relationship satisfaction and FSD. There remains, however, a need to expound this connection. In response, this study explored the role of relationship equity in relationship satisfaction and FSD. For this cross-sectional study, 299 Australian women aged 18 to 39 years responded to an online questionnaire measuring relationship factors and dimensions of sexual desire. Two mediation models were tested to examine how relationship equity was associated with solitary and dyadic sexual desire, via a connection with relationship satisfaction. As expected, equality in relationships predicted relationship satisfaction, which, subsequently, was related to higher levels of dyadic sexual desire. No significant mediation was found for solitary desire, indicating that relationship factors may not play a critical role in this domain. This result also demonstrates a distinct divergence between the two domains of desire that requires further examination. These results solidify the notion of FSD as a multifaceted construct and present meaningful implications for theory, research, and clinical practice.
... 14 These findings relate to those reported in Kurdek (2007) , who finds that time devoted to household chores is more equally shared in lesbian couples than in gay couples. ...
... Gay men and lesbian couples tend to have a more egalitarian division of labour and less specialization than opposite-sex couples (Ciscato et al., 2020;Giddings et al., 2014;Goldberg et al., 2012;Jaspers & Verbakel, 2013;Kurdek, 2007;Prickett et al., 2015). Differences in household specialization by sexual orientation may be an important factor in how same-sex couples allocate work effort. ...
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Using data from the 2008 to 2018 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), we explore compositional differences between single, common-law, and married individuals by sexual orientation in Canada. Specifically, we focus on how single versus partnered lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals differ in sociodemographic characteristics, education, hours worked, and health relative to their heterosexual counterparts. While same-sex unions and parenthood have increased considerably over the last two decades, LGB individuals are less likely to be married or to live in a household with children under the age of 12, relative to heterosexuals. Heterosexual men benefit the most from marriage, whether through productivity, positive selection, or cultural norms of the ideal worker. This is especially the case in terms of employment and earnings. Having children under the age of 12 in the household was strongly correlated with partnership for all LGB people, especially for married gay men. Overall, there were fewer correlates of partnership for LGB people than heterosexuals, suggesting greater diversity in who is partnered and to whom, within the LGB community, than for heterosexuals.
... chores equally more often than heterosexual couples, where the division is often skewed towards the woman. 37 Responsibility for household chores may be intrinsically determined; a population study analysing housework over the last 50 years across 19 countries found that men consistently performed fewer chores across all cultures than women. 16 Intrinsic perceptions of women's role in the home can also have an impact on the workplace, decreasing women's opportunities for promotion and contributing to the persistence of the 'leaky pipeline'. ...
Article
Background Even though women outnumber men enrolled in medical school, making up 59% of entrants in the UK, they are significantly under-represented in academic medicine and senior positions. In the UK, 28.6% of academics overall are women. In the USA, while 51% of instructors are women, only 20% make it through the ‘leaky pipeline’ to become professors. One attributable factor is work–family conflict. The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between work–family conflict and women’s career progression in academic medicine, and to provide a model to inform and change perceptions and practice in order to improve the ‘leaky pipeline’. Methods A systematic literature search was performed to identify qualitative studies which investigated this relationship. Studies were critically appraised, and data were analysed using thematic analysis. Themes identified in the data were used to develop a model to build on the understanding of this issue. Findings The findings of this research highlighted two main themes, one related to perceptions of gender (intrinsic or extrinsic), the way it impacts on work–family conflict and its relationship to women’s career progression. The second theme relates to structures which hinder or support women’s ability to have work–life balance. A model was developed that represents the inter-relationship between these factors. Interpretation Changes in both organisational culture and individuals’ perception in regard to gender roles, especially of those in leadership, are necessary to create an environment where the best talent in academic medicine is selected regardless of gender.
... This pattern may be reproduced as transgender individuals seek gender coherence within relationships with different-gender partners through traditional enactments of masculinity and femininity [24,25]. However, it is also likely that this gendered pattern diverges in marriages involving a transgender spouse because of transgender individuals' complex experiences of gender [26,27]: research suggests that relationships involving sexual and gender minority individuals often feature less intensely gendered differences in their relationship [26,28], particularly in same-gender marriages [29]. ...
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The suicide rate for transgender people is among the highest of any group in the United States. Yet, we know little about disadvantages or resources available to transgender people to prevent suicide. The overall purpose of this study is to assess how marital status modifies the risk of suicide among transgender people. We analyzed data from the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey to predict marital status differences in both suicide ideation and suicide attempt in the past year. The analytic sample for suicide ideation included 17,117 transgender respondents (9,182 transwomen and 7,935 transmen), and the analytic sample for suicide attempt was limited to 8,058 transgender respondents (4,342 transwomen and 3,716 transmen) who reported suicide ideation in the last 12 months. Results from binary logistic regression models suggested that never married and previously married transmen and transwomen, regardless of their partnership status, generally had higher risk of both suicide ideation and attempt than their married transgender counterparts with only one exception: never married transwomen had lower risk of suicide ideation (but not attempt) than their married transwomen counterpart after sociodemographic characteristics were accounted for. These findings draw attention to the heterogeneity of the transgender population, highlighting marital status as a key social factor in stratifying the life experiences of transgender people.
... 14 These findings relate to those reported in Kurdek (2007) , who finds that time devoted to household chores is more equally shared in lesbian couples than in gay couples. ...
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We examine time allocation decisions in same-sex and different-sex couples from a Beckerian comparative advantage perspective. In particular, we estimate the comparative advantage relationship between time spent on either market or household activities and a dummy for being the highest earner in a couple on samples of same-sex and different-sex couples. Using the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), we find that same-sex couples specialize not as much as different-sex couples. We argue that these specialization differences are driven by the most traditional different-sex couples. Without married couples with wives at home taking care of children and husbands working outside the home, which represent at most 20 percent of all different-sex couples, we find that the highest earner in a couple spends 80 minutes more per day on market work and 40 minutes less per day on household work, regardless their sexual orientation. We therefore conclude that, from a comparative advantage perspective, most same-sex and different-sex couples specialize equally.
... Thus, greater flexibility in gender roles is to everyone's benefit. For instance, gay and lesbian couples, for whom gender roles are typically more flexible, tend to have more equitable divisions of domestic labour compared to heterosexual couples (Kurdek, 2007). Thus, future research should investigate how to support individuals, couples, and societies to break free from their gendered roles, and investigate the role that context-specifically global crisis and prolonged uncertainty-plays in both buttressing and dismantling existing gender roles and inequalities. ...
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The onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to progress toward gender equality and, instead, exacerbated existing gender inequalities across domains—from gendered divisions of labour to economic stability. In this paper we document some of the most glaring gender inequalities that have arisen in the COVID-19 pandemic and discuss how social psychological theories and research—including work on gender stereotypes and roles, responses to threat, precarious masculinity, perceptions of risk, and backlash—can help to explain the roots of these inequalities. In doing so, we use a broad definition of gender and consider relevant intersections of identity. Finally, we present three key considerations for research on gender inequalities moving forward. Namely, the need for social psychologists to (a) challenge binary conceptualizations of gender, (b) broaden the focus of research on gender inequalities, and (c) adopt an intersectional lens to address systemic inequalities in the wake of COVID-19.
... Within same-sex partnerships, scholars contend that culturally accepted gendered roles and responsibilities, including financial responsibilities, caretaking, and household labor, take on greater complexity. Researchers find that the micro-dynamics of household responsibilities are not only explained by cultural beliefs and expectations of gendered activities, but also by individual economic positions, social status, and other dynamics of power, as well as individual interests and desires (Carrington, 1999;Kurdek, 2007). Thus, while these non-traditional families forge new or unique forms of family arrangements, their localized, household decisions are situated within and impacted by the broader historic, economic, structural, and cultural contexts. ...
... caregiver. 30 Some studies have shown disadvantages in health, especially in mental health, in homosexual people, due to their exposure to discrimination. However, these health disadvantages may also be an effect of their family structure, which may not afford these men the advantages of the traditional partnership. ...
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Background Psychological distress includes a broader range of experiences, varying from less severe symptoms of depression and anxiety to severe psychiatric disease. Global estimates for depression and anxiety in 2017 were 3.4% and 3.8%, respectively. While for people living with HIV, global estimates were 16% and 33%, respectively. Objective We aimed to determine the prevalence of psychological distress by gender and associated characteristics in patients living with HIV. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted within the Spanish HIV Research Network CoRIS. Participants were interviewed by telephone between 2010 and 2014 about their psychological distress, sociodemographics, drug consumption, self-perceived health and combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) adherence. Laboratory tests and medical history details were collected from CoRIS. Logistic regression was used to identify characteristics associated with psychological distress. Findings We interviewed 99 women and 464 men, both living with HIV. A greater proportion of women (51, 51.5%) reported psychological distress than men (179, 38.6%; p<0.01). Non-adherence to cART (OR 4.6 and 2.3, 95% CI 1.4‒15.1 and 1.3‒4.2) and non-use of cART (8.4 and 1.8, 2.2‒32.4 and 1.1‒2.8) were related to psychological distress in women and men, respectively. Spending little time in leisure-based physical activity was related to psychological distress in women (3.1, 1.1‒9.0). Living alone (2.0, 1.3‒3.0) and being unemployed (2.3, 1.4‒3.6) were related to psychological distress in men. Conclusions and clinical implications As people living with HIV have a high prevalence of psychological distress, their regular screening appointments should include psychological assessment. A gendered approach is needed to detect and manage psychological distress.
... However, longitudinal studies suggest that heterosexual families are less responsive to feminist demands than workplaces or schools (England, 2010). Conversely, it is possible that lesbian marriages and domestic partnerships could circumvent the conservative elements of marriage and create more equitable families (Kurdek, 2007). Future research should determine if these other reasons can explain the lack of a marital status effect for GLB voting in a liberal direction. ...
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... Despite having access to the same parental leave policy, Swedish lesbian and heterosexual couples utilize their options differently, with lesbian couples forming more equal arrangements. This is unsurprising, given that a number of previous studies have shown that lesbian couples generally share housework, child care and paid work more equally than heterosexual couples do (Bos and Gotta et al. 2011;Kurdek 2005Kurdek , 2007Patterson, Sutfin and Fulcher 2004;Perlesz et al. 2010;Solomon, Rothblum and Balsam 2005;Tasker and Golombok 1998). Lesbian couples also value equality more highly (Patterson et al. 2004). ...
... These processes could result from differential treatment by employers or from differences in how same-sex and different-sex couples divide work/family time. Same-sex couples do tend to be more egalitarian in their division of household labor, but there is still specialization between partners in how they allocate paid and unpaid labor (Goldberg, Smith, & Perry-Jenkins, 2012;Jaspers & Verbakel, 2013;Kurdek, 2007;Prickett, Martin-Storey, & Crosnoe, 2015). For instance, Aksoy et al. (2018) find that lesbian women specialize less than heterosexual women, which may explain why lesbians have a wage advantage. ...
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A growing body of research focuses on the labor market experiences and outcomes of LGBTQ+ people. Yet sexual orientation has been incorporated unevenly into research on labor market inequality, developing in parallel across work in labor economics and the sociology of work and organizations. In this review, we describe research on sexual orientation and wage inequality, bridging insights from quantitative studies of wage gaps and qualitative work on the organizational and occupational experiences of sexual minorities. We further discuss theoretical developments in the sociology of sexuality to provide background to the concepts and measures both bodies of research employ in practice. We argue that future research should integrate these approaches to consider how local and diffuse cultural understandings of sexual orientation shape the valuation of workers.
... The partner with the greatest socioeconomic resources often has the most power in same-sex couples (Caldwell & Peplau, 1984;Peplau, Venegas, & Campbell, 1996). However, empirical findings have revealed that compared to opposite-sex couples, female and male same-sex couples tend to be more egalitarian when dividing household labor and finances (Balsam et al., 2008;Kurdek, 2007;Lam, McHale, & Crouter, 2012;Patterson, 2000;Peplau & Spalding, 2000;Peplau et al., 1996;Solomon et al., 2005) and making decisions (Goldberg, 2013;Kurdek, 1993;Kurdek & Schmitt, 1986). Presumably, because same-sex couples are less likely to follow traditional gender roles and norms, they may coordinate their retirement to a greater extent than opposite-sex couples. ...
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This study examines how married couples’ age differences and gender dynamics influence retirement coordination in Sweden. High-quality longitudinal administrative registers allow us to study the labor market outcomes of all marital couples in Sweden. Using regression analysis, we find that the likelihood of couples retiring close in time decreases as their age difference increases but that age differences have a similar effect on retirement coordination for couples with larger age differences. Additionally, retirement coordination is largely gender-neutral in opposite-sex couples with age differences regardless of whether the male spouse is older. Additionally, male same-sex couples retire closer in time than both opposite-sex couples and female same-sex couples. The definition of retirement coordination as the number of years between retirements contributes to the literature on couples’ retirement behavior and allows us to study the degree of retirement coordination among all couples, including those with larger age differences.
... Finally, the analysis needs to be extended to same-sex couples, who were excluded from this study due to their small representation in the British Household Panel Study. Not only is it important to see whether labor market insecurity has similar spousal effects on same-sex couples, but a growing literature suggests that same-sex couples hold more egalitarian values and have a more equal division of household labor (e.g., Kurdek 2007). An analysis of these couples might provide a unique way to understand the significance of gender differences in heterosexual couples and to test the power of the breadwinning norm. ...
Article
The negative impact of unemployment on individuals and its spillover to spouses is widely documented. However, we have a gap in our knowledge when it comes to the similar consequences of temporary employment. This is problematic, because although temporary jobs are often considered better alternatives to unemployment for endowing individuals with income and opportunities to connect to employers, they are also associated with stressors such as high levels of job insecurity and poor quality work, the effects of which might spill over to spouses. Using matched data from the British Household Panel Study, I show that temporary work is at least as detrimental as unemployment for spouses’ subjective well-being, although there are differences. When experienced by husbands, temporary work, like unemployment, has a negative effect on wives’ psychological well-being and life satisfaction. Yet, as opposed to unemployment, wives’ temporary employment also spills over and negatively affects husbands’ psychological well-being. Furthermore, coupled individuals’ well-being is most affected when men are either unemployed or temporarily employed and their wives have permanent jobs, suggesting that the effect is related to gender deviation. The effects are robust after controlling for fixed individual characteristics that can influence both employment status and well-being outcomes.
Article
Unequal divisions of paid work and care among new parents contribute to increasing inequalities. One explanation for this is joint utility maximization and the benefits of partners (temporarily) specializing in paid work and care. This paper examines the (dis)advantages of specializing compared to dividing tasks more equally by studying whether differences in specialization between same-sex and different-sex couples lead to differences in household earnings after entering parenthood. Using register data from Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Sweden and examining first-time parents, we show that female couples have a more equal within-couple income development during the transition to parenthood than different-sex couples do. However, we find no differences in household income (including or excluding social transfers) between the two types of couples. Although a more equal task division may be preferred from an individual perspective, our results show no evidence of a “best strategy” when it comes to maximizing household income.
Article
Using the Canadians Censuses of 2001, 2006, 2016, and the National Household Survey of 2011, this article compares intra-household specialization patterns of married and cohabiting couples by gender composition of households. Household specialization is operationalized in several ways. The first set of measures captures the earnings differentials between spouses, while the second set of measures relies on labour supply. In line with previous studies, we often find a lower level of intra-household specialization for both male-male and female-female couples, compared with their heterosexual counterparts. However, the difference with heterosexuals is much larger for female-female couples. When the most recent dataset is split by income level, it appears that the specialization gaps are largely driven by the more affluent households. We also find considerable heterogeneity in the patterns when the sample is split by generational status.
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The institution of marriage is at a crossroads. Across most of the industrialized world, unmarried cohabitation and nonmarital births have skyrocketed while marriage rates are at record lows. These trends mask a new, idealized vision of marriage as a marker of success as well as a growing class divide in childbearing behavior: the children of better educated, wealthier individuals continue to be born into relatively stable marital unions while the children of less educated, poorer individuals are increasingly born and raised in more fragile, nonmarital households. The interdisciplinary approach offered by this edited volume provides tools to inform the debate and to assist policy makers in resolving questions about marriage at a critical juncture. Drawing on the expertise of social scientists and legal scholars, the book will be a key text for anyone who seeks to understand marriage as a social institution and to evaluate proposals for marriage reform.
Chapter
The institution of marriage is at a crossroads. Across most of the industrialized world, unmarried cohabitation and nonmarital births have skyrocketed while marriage rates are at record lows. These trends mask a new, idealized vision of marriage as a marker of success as well as a growing class divide in childbearing behavior: the children of better educated, wealthier individuals continue to be born into relatively stable marital unions while the children of less educated, poorer individuals are increasingly born and raised in more fragile, nonmarital households. The interdisciplinary approach offered by this edited volume provides tools to inform the debate and to assist policy makers in resolving questions about marriage at a critical juncture. Drawing on the expertise of social scientists and legal scholars, the book will be a key text for anyone who seeks to understand marriage as a social institution and to evaluate proposals for marriage reform.
Article
Objectives Spouses play an important role in their partner's eating behaviors, including both promoting and impeding healthy eating. The division of foodwork in the relationship (i.e., if there is individual or shared responsibility for food roles) may vary as a function of gender or sexual orientation and may be important in understanding eating behaviors. Method Using cross-sectional, dyadic data from 462 heterosexual and gay married couples (N = 921 individuals) residing in the United States, we accordingly sought to examine which partner was most responsible for two food roles, food shopping and meal preparation (Aim 1); whether these roles differed by gender (Aim 1a) and sexual orientation (Aim 1b); whether these food roles were related to the frequency of eating healthy and unhealthy foods (Aim 2); and whether these associations differed by gender (Aim 2a) and sexual orientation (Aim 2b). Results We found that one individual was responsible for these roles in a majority of couples, although meal preparation was more likely to be shared in gay than in heterosexual couples. We also found that, in general, the person responsible for these food roles ate healthy more frequently compared to when their partner was responsible; findings for shared responsibility were more equivocal. These associations did not differ, however as a function of gender or sexual orientation. Conclusion Our findings contribute to a further understanding of food dynamics among heterosexual and gay male couples and have important implications for health promotion and intervention efforts.
Article
The homeownership disparities associated with sexual orientation have rarely been investigated. Using the Canadian censuses of 2001, 2006, 2016, and the National Household Survey of 2011, this paper examines how sexual orientation associates with the patterns of homeownership. Given the 2005 legal recognition of same-sex marriage in Canada, the data allow for comparing sexual minorities with heterosexuals of the same marital status. The analysis shows that prior to the legal recognition of same-sex marriage, same-sex households’ homeownership rates were between the rates for married and common-law heterosexuals. Post-legal recognition, rather similar homeownership rates are found for common-law same-sex and common-law different-sex couples. But, married same-sex households, regardless of sex composition, are found largely less likely to own their residence than married heterosexuals. Non-negligible differences are also found regarding home values and the presence of mortgage. Various explanations are explored.
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This chapter offers an examination of the research on the economic well-being of LGBTQ-parent families in the United States. It focuses on four key measures in large, nationally representative datasets: (a) household income, (b) poverty rates, (c) food insecurity, and (d) public benefits receipt. While there is economic diversity within the LGBTQ-parent community, research across these four measures consistently shows that LGBTQ-parent families report lower overall household incomes, higher rates of poverty, increased food insecurity, and greater receipt of public assistance than both non-LGBTQ parents and their families and LGBTQ people who are not parents. The chapter also reviews potential reasons for these consistent findings and offers directions for future research that are crucial for ensuring that LGBTQ-parent families can thrive.
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The traditional marriage initiation script entails male partners ‘proposing’ to female partners. However, little is known about how same-gender couples initiate a marriage or civil partnership. Drawing on qualitative survey data from 82 people in a UK civil partnership or same-gender marriage we identify two marriage initiation themes which foreground the reshaping of script norms for marriage proposals. The first theme, ‘queer proposals’ entails an adaptation of the conventional script. The second theme ‘jointly negotiated initiations’, foregrounds a fundamental departure from heteronormative scripts for initiating the legal formalisation of a relationship. It is argued that the non-normative status of such partnerships not only allow for alternative scripts to socially emerge, but offer a reconceptualization of a cultural script grounded in heteronormative relationship practices. The study therefore makes an important contribution to our understanding of same-gender relationship practices and has significant implications for sexual script theory.
Article
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to, using several cycles of the Canadian General Social Survey (GSS) covering 2010–2015, examine the patterns of work-life balance (WLB) satisfaction and work-life segmentation by sexual orientation. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, multivariate regression analysis is used. Findings The analysis shows that men living with a male partner are more satisfied with their WLB than their heterosexual counterparts. No statistically significant difference is found between women who live with a female partner and their heterosexual counterparts, in WLB satisfaction. Work-life segmentation is operationalized by the odds of being at the top levels of the life satisfaction scale without being satisfied with the circumstances of one’s job. Controlling for a wide range of characteristics, working Canadians living with a same-sex partner, regardless of their genders, are found more likely to have segmented their work and life domains than their heterosexual counterparts. Originality/value The paper, for the first time, investigates how sexual orientation relates to WLB satisfaction and work-life segmentation. This study exploits a unique opportunity offered by the Canadian GSSs in which WLB satisfaction is directly surveyed, all the while partnered sexual minorities are identifiable.
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The focus of this article is to explore the household division of labor and childcare patterns in lesbian households and how this is influenced by economics, social class, and family background. In doing this, data is drawn from 10 sets of qualitative interviews with lesbian families located in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in the northeast of England. The research findings presented in this artilce discuss a number of themes and areas of concern in relation to the undertaking of household chores. These include gender-negotiation and motherhood; childcare continuation, social class and class ambivalence, and the impact of family background/relatives and external community expectations. In concluding, the article reveals the complex intersections of parenthood, gender, sexuality, geography, social class, and heteronormative expectations in informing and structuring household labor and childcare patterns within the same-sex family unit.
Chapter
This chapter engages with the traditional and modern concept of ‘family’ and ‘masculinity’. It explores gender roles and gender relations in both same-sex and heterosexual intimate relationships. It also gives a brief description about the interracial gay partners that participated in the research and add nuance to the understanding of readers about the background, demographics information, relationship formation and general experience of the participants.
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Having engaged with the historical contextualisation of same-sex relationships and relevant literature in Chapters One and Two, key findings of research conducted are discussed in Chapters Three and Four respectively. In order to understand the complexities and dynamics of interracial gay households in the South African context, this chapter engages with the relationship formation, division of labour and power relations, amongst gay couples. The main channels through which gay partners initiated their relationships were physical face-to-face encounters or social engagements and online dating. The impact of personal resources, such as income, education and race, were examined in the initial coming together of the couples but none of this had any significant influence on their familial arrangements. This chapter also examines how gay couples share housework and participate in the management of domestic duties. In this latter regard, no distinctive hierarchical divisions of labour amongst the participants were evident, notwithstanding their racial backgrounds and differential earnings. Lastly, this chapter suggests that scholars, gender and family experts, should pay attention to how gay partners are resisting and ‘redoing gender’ in their relationships, and theorise gay partners’ experiences distinctively rather than looking at them through a heterosexual lens. Overall, this chapter discusses the formation of relationships, division of household labour, how power is negotiated and what sustains intimacy in interracial gay partnerships.
Article
The cumulative weight of evidence supports that religious involvement has a positive association with subjective wellbeing. This association is found to vary by cultural context, gender, and age. No large scale study exists regarding the effects of sexual orientation on the association between religiosity and subjective wellbeing. This article, using nationally representative Canadian data from 2010 to 2014, fills this gap. As a prelude, the sexual orientation-related differences in religiosity, also not previously examined using Canadian data, are assessed. Both gay males and lesbians are found more likely to be unaffiliated than their heterosexual counterparts. The association of religiosity with subjective wellbeing is found to be positive, though small, for heterosexuals of both genders and for gay males. No statistically significant effect is found for lesbians. Various venues of explanation are explored.
Article
Using five consecutive cycles of the Canadian General Social Survey covering 2010–14, the present article examines the differences in the labour supply and occupational sorting of partnered men and women by sexual orientation. Conditional on being gainfully employed, lesbians are found to have a higher labour supply than heterosexual women, even controlling for factors such as the number of children and the characteristics of the spouse. The reverse is true for gay men. The analysis of occupational structure shows that lesbians are more likely to sort into male‐dominated occupations, while the reverse is true for gay men. The findings of this article have implications for the correct interpretation of the sexual orientation related earnings gaps.
Article
This article identifies ways that judges, lawyers, researchers, and policy makers may attend to the role of gender and gender dynamics facing same‐sex couples upon divorce or other relationship dissolution. When same‐sex couples marry, the legal system and society at large may project conceptions of gender onto same‐sex couples, often in a manner that conflicts with couples' intentions and practices. Gender and gender dynamics may affect the bases for dissolution, the financial aspects of dissolution, and the determination of child custody. The article also suggests directions for future research on the impact of gender on the dissolution of same‐sex relationships. In the context of same‐sex relationships, the legal system may apply standards or ideals upon couples in a manner in tension with the couple's expectations, in part because of assumptions rooted in the historically gendered nature of marriage. Gender and gender dynamics may affect the bases for dissolution, the financial awards made in the context of dissolution, and the determination of child custody. Researchers, judges, practitioners, and policy makers would do well to attend to the role of gender and dynamics in the context of the dissolution of same‐sex relationships.
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In this chapter I first define, and then examine the origins of research into, the gendered division of household labor and care. I outline the main theoretical approaches, finishing with the development of multi-level theoretical frameworks that connect the institutional and interactional levels of the gendered construction of labor and care. I follow the logic of these models to describe current configurations and trends. I focus on the factors identified by successive decade reviews as being the most important influences on the gendered division of household labor and care, and describe spousal resources and educational level as examples of individual-level influences. I then discuss cross-national trends in relation to institutional-level policy contexts, comparing evidence for and against the idea of a recent ‘stall’ in progress towards gender equality. I conclude by arguing that it is important to recognize the processes of progressive change that are at work, in order to continue to press for movement in the direction of greater equality. I outline the most significant barriers that need addressing, emphasizing in particular the persistency of traditional masculinities, and policy directions that fail to address the need for a better work-life balance for both women and men.
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Assessed lesbian couples' division of labor, their satisfaction with division of labor and with their relationships, and their children's psychosocial adjustment. The 26 participating families were headed by lesbian couples, each of whom had at least 1 child between 4 and 9 yrs of age. Parents' relationship satisfaction was generally high but was unrelated to measures of parental division of labor or of children's adjustment. Although both parents reported sharing household tasks and decision making equally, biological mothers reported greater involvement in child care, and nonbiological mothers reported spending longer hours in paid employment. Parents were more satisfied and children were more well-adjusted when labor involved in child care was more evenly distributed between the parents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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This study compared lesbian and heterosexual parents' division of household labor, satisfaction with division of labor, satisfaction with couple relationships, and associations of these variables with psychological adjustment of children. Participating lesbian ( n = 30) and heterosexual ( n = 16) couples all became parents by using anonymous donor insemination and had at least 1 child of elementary-school age. Although both lesbian and heterosexual couples reported relatively equal divisions of paid employment and of household and decision-making tasks, lesbian biological and nonbiological mothers shared child-care tasks more equally than did heterosexual parents. Among lesbian nonbiological mothers, those more satisfied with the division of family decisions in the home were also more satisfied with their relationships and had children who exhibited fewer externalizing behavior problems. The effect of division of labor on children's adjustment was mediated by parents' relationship satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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This research tests a model suggesting that marital distress leads individuals to scrutinize what is given and received in the relationship. This scrutiny elicits perceptions of unfairness that maintain or exacerbate marital distress. In a 3-panel longitudinal study tracking married couples across the transition to parenthood, both wives' and husbands' reports of marital conflict and wives' marital dissatisfaction at Time 1 positively predicted perceived unfairness of the allocation of household tasks at Time 2, controlling for earlier perceptions of unfairness. In addition, there was evidence of perceived unfairness of division of labor at Time 2 predicting marital conflict and marital dissatisfaction for wives at Time 3, controlling for earlier conflict and dissatisfaction. This model of relationship distress and perceptions of unfairness is contrasted with prior interpretations of links between perceived injustice and distress in relationships.
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Mediation is said to occur when a causal effect of some variable X on an outcome Y is explained by some intervening variable M. The authors recommend that with small to moderate samples, bootstrap methods (B. Efron & R. Tibshirani, 1993) be used to assess mediation. Bootstrap tests are powerful because they detect that the sampling distribution of the mediated effect is skewed away from 0. They argue that R. M. Baron and D. A. Kenny's (1986) recommendation of first testing the X --> Y association for statistical significance should not be a requirement when there is a priori belief that the effect size is small or suppression is a possibility. Empirical examples and computer setups for bootstrap analyses are provided.
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Past research has revealed that women, working or not, perform more family labor (i.e., housework and child care) than do men. Yet, women often do not perceive this as unfair. Drawing on the theoretical work of L. Thompson (1991) and B. Major (1993), the authors hypothesized that this paradox might be explained by women perceiving greater fairness in the lopsided division of family work (a) when they compare the amount of family work they do with other women (who perform similar amounts) rather than with the spouse; (b) when they enjoy performing family work; and/or (c) when they and their spouses believe that they are especially competent at family work. Data from a 3-panel, longitudinal study of married couples expecting their first child were consistent with the second and third predictions but not the first. Further, prospective analyses suggested that perceiving inequity in family work leads wives and husbands to make more frequent comparisons with the spouse and sometimes with same-sex others.
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