This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by BLUMBERG, R. L. Articles by COLEMAN, M. T. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

A Theoretical Look at the Gender Balance of Power in the American Couple

University of California, San Diego

MARION TOLBERT COLEMAN

University of Texas at Austin

Despite the very rich theoretical literature on marital power, recent empirical investigations on this subject have, in general, relied on disappointing measures of power. The empirically testable model developed in this article is an application of Blumberg's general theory of gender stratification to the contemporary American heterosexual couple. In the model, we concur with prior studies that identify economic power as the key variable in the power balance within a marital relationship. Our conceptualization of economic power, however, attempts to reflect the extremely complex nature of marital power. Thus we offer the notion of "overall economic power" and then suggest that there are a number of "discount factors" operating at both the macro and micro levels that affect the power balance, resulting in what we term "net economic power." The fully elaborated model is dynamic, taking into account birth cohort differences, stable versus transitional relationships, and cross-class differences.

Journal of Family Issues, Vol. 10, No. 2, 225-250 (1989)
DOI: 10.1177/019251389010002005


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Sarasa Do Welfare Benefits Affect Women's Choices of Adult Care Giving? Eur. Sociol. Rev., February 1, 2008; 24(1): 37 - 51. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Choi and J. Harwood A Hypothesized Model of Korean Women's Responses to Abuse J Transcult Nurs, July 1, 2004; 15(3): 207 - 216. [Abstract] [PDF]

				X. XU and S.-C. LAI Resources, Gender Ideologies, and Marital Power: The Case of Taiwan Journal of Family Issues, March 1, 2002; 23(2): 209 - 245. [Abstract] [PDF]

				D. ELLIS Safety, Equity, and Human Agency: Contributions of Divorce Mediation Violence Against Women, September 1, 2000; 6(9): 1012 - 1027. [Abstract] [PDF]

				Xiaohe Xu Convergence or Divergence: The Transformation of Marriage Relationships in Urban America and Urban China Journal of Asian and African Studies, January 1, 1998; 33(2): 181 - 202. [Abstract] [PDF]

				K. D. PYKE CLASS-BASED MASCULINITIES: The Interdependence of Gender, Class, and Interpersonal Power Gender Society, October 1, 1996; 10(5): 527 - 549. [Abstract]

				L. SANCHEZ and E. W. KANE Women's and Men's Constructions of Perceptions of Housework Fairness Journal of Family Issues, May 1, 1996; 17(3): 358 - 387. [Abstract]

				K. PYKE and S. COLTRANE Entitlement, Obligation, and Gratitude in Family Work Journal of Family Issues, January 1, 1996; 17(1): 60 - 82. [Abstract]

				L. SANCHEZ Material Resources, Family Structure Resources, and Husbands' Housework Participation: A Cross-National Comparison Journal of Family Issues, September 1, 1994; 15(3): 379 - 402. [Abstract]

				M. M. FERREE The Gender Division of Labor in Two-Earner Marriages: Dimensions of Variability and Change Journal of Family Issues, June 1, 1991; 12(2): 158 - 180. [Abstract]

				S. COLTRANE Birth Timing and the Division of Labor in Dual-Earner Families: Exploratory Findings and Suggestions for Future Research Journal of Family Issues, June 1, 1990; 11(2): 157 - 181. [Abstract]