Race, gender, and power in Asian American interracial marriages

Abstract

This study explores whether the perceived decision-making power between partners in married and cohabitating unions varies by the composition of race and gender of the couple, using three types of interracial/intraracial couplings involving Asian Americans. Although interracial unions have dramatically increased and symbolized racial integration in the United States, the association between racial/gender make-up in couples and perceived spousal power dynamics has received less attention. Using multinomial logistic regressions on data from the National Latino and Asian American Survey (NLAAS), the present study revealed that Asian men partnering with White women perceive less male-dominant, more egalitarian decision-making power than Asian men partnering with Asian women. In contrast, there was no significant difference in the perceived decision-making power between Asian women partnering with White men and their endogenously partnered counterparts. These findings suggest the necessity to look closely at the intersections of race and gender in power relations among intimate unions.