Sex Roles within Marriage

Abstract

ALONG WITH the multitudinal eco » nomic, political, and social changes that have occurred in U.S. society over the past two decades, there also has been con siderable change in the role of husband and wife within the nuclear family. Al though traditional sex role norms are still of great influence and alternative models are not readily available nor widely ac cepted, new realities, nonetheless, require certain changes in family functioning. The women's movement, effective contracep tion, and increased financial pressures contribute to changes in family structure and family roles. Perhaps the single most significant structural change is women's entry into the labor force. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Employment Standards Administration indicate that women's par ticipation in the labor force has increased systematically, with 53 percent (43,904,000) of all women over age 20 employed full time and with women as a group mak ing up 43.5 percent of the labor force.1 In view of this fact, as well as other social and political changes, there is ideological pressure to develop new and'more egali tarian modes of household organization. The pressure for change is based on the idea that egalitarian sex roles in the domestic arena are less constricting and more adaptive to couples' present needs. Generally, recent studies show that household tasks are still highly special ized according to traditional sex role norms: wives take major responsibility for washing dishes, cooking, and child care; men service the car, mow the lawn, and move heavy furniture.2 Decision making also is divided according to gender: men make decisions regarding major financial issues and their own jobs: women make decisions regarding children and house hold issues. Decision making, however, has never appeared as sex segregated as task allocation, and recent data suggest an even greater movement toward egalitar ian decision making within marriage.3 The impact of wives' employment on the division of household responsibilities and decision making is an area of considerable interest to social scientists. However, there Susan Lavinsky Krausz It is generally accepted that cultural var iables have a significant impact on the distribution of responsibilities and decision making in the home. In contrast, the im pact of psychological variables on the dis tribution of tasks and decision making is less clear. In this regard, Blood and Wolfe posited the resource theory, which sug gests that the partner who brings more resources to the marriage will have greater power in the relationship and, thereby, control the organization of responsibilities and decision making.7 Social psychologists also have addressed the relationship between self-esteem and equitable outcomes.8 The findings of this research suggest that a person's sense of personal worth represents a significant input into social relationships and affects the outcomes that an individual believes