The Male Breadwinner/Female Homemaker Model and Perceived Marital Stability: A Comparison of Chinese Wives in the United States and Urban China

Abstract

From in-depth interviews with Chinese immigrant wives in the United States and the Chinese couples in urban China in 2004, researcher found a surprising result in terms of their interpretations of the impact of the male-breadwinner ideal upon perceived marital stability. Over half of the sampled Chinese immigrant wives in the United States reported that they became stay-at-home mothers after their immigration, and most believed that becoming a stay-at-home mother had stabilized their marriage. The traditionally defined gender role for women was actually not as much condemned by the Chinese immigrant wives as it would be if they were in China. When asked whether or not the Chinese urban wives would like to follow the male-breadwinner ideal, a common response was “No way!” Among urban Chinese couples, wives as well as husbands strongly believed that the male-breadwinner ideal would destabilize rather than stabilize their marriage. In this paper, researcher has put forth a hypothesis that the existing familial, economic, and cultural conditions in the United States and urban China play a role in shaping the Chinese couples’ perceptions of the traditional family model and their decision to either adapt or reject it in association with their perceived marital stability.