ERIC Number: EJ881823
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 30
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0192-513X
EISSN: N/A
What's Age Got to Do with It? A Case Study Analysis of Power and Gender in Husband-Older Marriages
Pyke, Karen; Adams, Michele
Journal of Family Issues, v31 n6 p748-777 2010
This qualitative study explores assumptions of family scholars who draw on age heterogamy and marriage-gradient approaches to suggest that marriages between older husbands and much younger wives are likely to be male-dominated, with traditional gender arrangements. Drawing on resource theory and marital power perspectives, we analyze the life histories, psychosocial understandings, and day-to-day arrangements of both partners in eight husband-older marriages to uncover their unique features. We present four cases with distinct dynamics to suggest that future research needs to consider that (a) husbands' older age does not automatically translate into male dominance and rigid gender arrangements; (b) when combined with additional forms of heterogamy, such as racial status, social class, occupational prestige, and education, age heterogamy is likely to be associated with male dominance; (c) men can experience a shift toward "more" marital sharing and androgyny upon remarriage to a younger woman; and (d) gender arrangements in husband-older marriages can undergo major shifts across the life course. (Contains 1 note.)
Descriptors: Research Needs, Spouses, Social Class, Sex Role, Sexual Identity, Case Studies, Qualitative Research, Age Differences, Power Structure, Gender Differences, Social Status, Employment Level, Marriage, Stereotypes
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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Authoring Institution: N/A
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