The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

414 Chapter 11

Power/Status. Because the division of

labor is more equal in homosexual couples,

the differential status between women and

men in heterosexual couples may contribute

to the uneven division of labor. In homo-

sexual couples, there is no differential status

based on gender and the division of labor is

more evenly divided. In lesbian relationships,

performing household chores may not even

be viewed as a low-status role. One study

of lesbian families showed that the woman

who performed more household chores had

more rather than less authority in the fam-

ily (Moore, 2008). The person in charge of

household labor had more decision power in

terms of how the family spent money, how

children were raised, and how the household

was organized. Even income, a traditional

measure of status, was not related to time on

household labor.

(Moore, 2008). Thus, parenthood may alter

the division of labor in homosexual families.

What Determines Who Does What?

Gender-Role Attitudes. We would ex-

pect that whether the couple endorses tra-

ditional versus egalitarian views of marriage

would influence the household division of

labor. Husbands’ gender-role attitudes are

more predictive of the division of labor than

wives’ gender-role attitudes (Cunningham,

2005; Stevens et al., 2006). When the hus-

band has an egalitarian view of marriage,

he contributes more and the wife contrib-

utes less compared to other couples. Wives’

egalitarian views seem to be unrelated

to either husbands’ or wives’ household

contributions.

Rabin (1998) points out that women’s

and men’s gender-role attitudes are chang-

ing and undergoing some negotiation. She

refers to thegender tension lineas the point

at which people feel uncomfortable with fur-

ther change: “The gender tension line is that

point beyond which the person can no lon-

ger change in terms of gender role and still

feel masculine or feminine enough” (p. 182).

For example, a man may have egalitarian

views and believe both mothers and fathers

should change a child’s diapers. When at

home, the man may be willing to change the

child’s diaper; when in public, however, the

man may not be willing to take the child into

the men’s room to change the diaper. Pub-

lic displays of such behavior cross the line

for this man. Similarly, a woman may have

egalitarian views of her marriage and work

full time; however, when it comes to decid-

ing who retrieves a sick child from school,

the woman feels more comfortable having

the school contact her than her husband. See

if you can determine what your own gender

tension lines are in Do Gender 11.2.

DO GENDER 11.2

Determine Your

Gender Tension Line

This exercise involves some in-depth self-

analysis. First, think carefully about the

behaviors that characterize the other sex in

which you would be willing to engage. Start

with a domain of behavior, such as appear-

ance. For example, “I am a woman and I

would be willing to wear a suit.” Then,

keep upping the stakes until you find a

domain of behavior that “crosses the line”

for you. For example, “I would be unwill-

ing to be a stay-at-home parent.” Do the

same for at least two other domains, such

as leisure interests, how you behave in re-

lationships with friends or with a romantic

partner, how you would divide the house-

hold chores in your family, and so on.

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