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Same-sex partners' familial expectations, including the division of household labor, are not well-understood in the existing research-research that largely references the experiences of white, middle- and upper-income lesbians who develop relationships with egalitarian goals. This article uses qualitative and survey research methods to evaluate the common view that two elements of feminist egalitarian ideology-economic independence and the equal distribution of housework and childrearing-are the defining features of lesbian-headed households. Analyses of 32 black women in lesbian stepfamilies suggest that partners share the providing role but biological mothers undertake significantly more household chores. More chore responsibility is used as a trade-off for greater authority aver other aspects of household organization, including family finances and childrearing. The biological mother's control in a family is largely a function of her legal tie to a child and greater perceived responsibility for the child's well-being. Notably, this pattern persists even when she earns less than her mate. Without the gender structure of male privilege or the material advantage of high income, these families associate control over household labor with greater relationship power. These findings, while derived from analyses of a unique population, hold implications for broader conceptions of gender and power within families, the bases of interactional power, and the internal manifestations of power across various family and couple types.
The literature on gender and inequality in families commonly concludes that gender ideologies and men's greater earnings are the primary mechanisms through which families define power dynamics and maintain gender stratification (Coltrane 2000; Sorenson and McLanahan 1987; South and Spitze 1994). In the absence of sex differences between partners, however, is there a more equitable distribution of housework, paid work, and childcare? Or, might these couples use some other sorting mechanism to create hierarchies in marriage-like relationships? Some research notes that, at least for women, the lack of sex distinctions between partners results in more egalitarian divisions of housework, paid work, and childcare (Patterson 1995; Sullivan 2004).
One limitation to these conclusions lies in the fact that much research centers on the experiences of white, college-educated lesbians who share an ideological commitment to a particular type of egalitarian relationship-an egalitarian relationship defined and encouraged by second-wave feminists of the 1970s women's movement. Studies of peer marriages (Schwartz 1994) and...