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African American couples, 189 Atkinson, Maxine, and Jacqueline Boles, 119 authority. See decision making Blood, Robert, and Donald Wolfe, 17–19 Blumstein, Philip, and Pepper Schwartz, 69 Brave New Families (Stacey), 187 Brines, Julie, 19 breadwinning: assumptions about, 1; as burden for wives, 85; consequences of failing at, 182; effects of unemployment on, 65; and historical privileges for husbands, 5, 182; and husbands moving up so wives can cut back, 145–146, 157, 159; husbands ’ plans to take over role, 85, 155–157, 169; and husbands’ struggle for respect, 155–157, 173; as key to masculine identity, 15; as masculine imperative, 1–2, 121, 127–128, 141–142; and potential status in unused degrees, 140, 156; power in, 4; responsibility for, 12–13, 15–16, 128; substitutes for, 130; as threat to woman’s gender identity, 126; wives disappointed in husbands’, 145, 157–159, 169. See also gender boundaries; gender identity Carrington, Christopher, 120 class differences: between spouses, 170–171, 175 Coltrane, Scott, 143 Connell, R.W., 116, 191 conventional gender expectations, 9, 13; pull of, 16, 120, 127, 146, 160–161, 168, 177 conventional marital contract, 12–14, 149–150; benefits for husbands, 179; and decision-making power, 5, 96; difficulty rewriting, 177; marital satisfaction as shaped by, 154–155; power dynamics embedded in, 16, 119, 176–177, 182; same deal for breadwinning wives in, 58, 65; value of spouses’ contributions as shaped by, 155 data analysis, 203 data collection, 31–32 decision making: assessing relative power in, 90, 95–96; autonomy for men, 98, 139; autonomy for women, 93, 144; benefits of acquiescing for wives, 110; comparison wives deferring to husbands’, 113; and conflict, 100–101, 104, 111–112, 170; control for husbands, 5, 99–100, 166; cost of resisting husbands ’ control, 110; higher-earning wives’ ability to control, 136; 213 Index decision making (continued) higher-earning wives’ ability to influence, 104–105; higher-earning wives consulting husbands, 98; higher-earning wives deferring to husbands, 86, 101–102, 109, 111, 115, 144–145, 182–183; higherearning wives deferring to preserve relationship, 106, 112; higherearning wives resisting men’s attempts to control, 100–101; higher-earning wives’ subtle attempts to influence, 91, 104–105, husbands’ ability to prevail, 108–109; husbands’ challenge to wives’ expertise, 103–104; husbands controlling important decisions, 99; husbands giving orders, 50, 91, 99–100; no veto for wives, 102; power in gathering information, 93–96; power in process of, 91, 103; power in specific expertise, 102–104; power linked to money control, 94–95; power of conventional housewives, 109; power performances among comparison couples, 112–113; power performances and higher-earning wives, 99–100, 106, 110–112; preparing for, 95; process, 72–73, 106, 108–109, 111, 115; resistance as an option, 110; veto power, 96, 98–99, 105, 109, 115 divorce: costs of, 186–187; link to domestic labor struggle, 134; threat of, 100–101, 163 doing gender (West and Zimmerman ), 21, 91, 116; as internal process , 22; as team performance, 22, 119, 126, 128, 176, 182–183. See also gender; gender boundaries domestic labor: as all-encompassing, 37–38; ambivalence over value of, 62–63; asking for help with, 41; avoidance by husbands, 38; balance of contributions, 124; benefits for men’s involvement in, 135; as burden , 37, 47, 60, 121–122, 132–133, 138; conflict over, 47, 164, 173–174; continued inequality in, 7, 18, 34, 40, 66; costs for women, 39; costs of struggle over to marital relationships , 39; creating family symbolically through, 122; credit taking, 33; differing standards and, 38, 41, 144; as empowering, 58–59, 61; gendered division of tasks, 35–36; as gendered labor, 35–36; how men and women view, 36; husbands’ contributions to, 43; husbands’ resistance to, 44; husbands with primary responsibility for, 57–58; as indicative of fairness, 24, 63; as invisible work, 37, 42–43, 59, 165; justification for division of, 26, 55; link to feminine identity, 39–40, 122; link to income earned, 7; link to power, 13; and love, 122, 133–135; minimizing wife’s contribution to, 42–43, 165; more equitable division of, 48–49; nature of tasks, 36; negotiating changes in, 97–98; as opportunity for control, 60, 64; paid help for, 41, 47, 50, 53; power in routine activities, 92–93, 138; and relative time demands of spouses, 35, 45, 53; reporting behavior , 33; responsibility for, 14, 38, 42–43, 52, 58; and role reversal, 57–58, 130, 133–134, 138; shared responsibility for, 56, 58; as source...

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