Egalitarian Lesbian Relationships?

Abstract

There is an emerging consensus in studies of same-sex relationships that egalitarianism is both valued in principle and achieved in practice. Most Western research illustrates the significance of egalitarian relationships in lesbianism (cf., Weston 1997; Dunne 1997; Weeks et al. 2001); except for Gabb’s, (2004) critique, their findings suggest that the lack of taken-for-granted guidelines from ‘gender scripts’ makes lesbian women feel relatively free from traditional expectations and responsibilities in terms of the gendered division of domestic labour. Most work done in Asia also emphasises egalitarian relationships; for example, Hong Kong lesbian families (Wong 2012) and Japanese lesbian couples (Kamano and Khor 2008; Kamano 2009). In response to existing studies, this chapter examines egalitarianism among Taiwanese lesbian couples in two separate areas, financial arrangements and the division of household labour. My findings on egalitarian lesbian relationships differ from most of the relevant research and suggest that the T/Po pattern does not necessarily lead to an imbalance in household arrangements.