Intimacy and Emotion Work in Same-Gender and Different-Gender Couples

• In Event: 167 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Paper Session. Love's Labors Lost? Emotion Work in Hard Times

Abstract

We merge a gender-as-relational perspective, which emphasizes that gender is co-constructed and enacted within relationships, with theoretical perspectives on emotion work to frame an analysis of in-depth interview data from 50 same-gender and 50 different-gender long-term couples (N = 100 individuals). We find that emotion work directed toward minimizing and maintaining emotion boundaries between partners as well as boundaries between emotional intimacy and sex are key to understanding the meanings and experiences of intimacy in long-term relationships. Experiences and meanings of intimacy, as well as acts of emotion work, vary across gendered relational contexts (i.e., one's own gender in relation to partner’s gender). These findings provide a new way of thinking about the diversity of meanings and experiences of intimacy in long-term relationships as well as the unequal division of emotion work that goes into sustaining intimacy, going beyond a focus on gender differences and toward gendered relational contexts.

Authors

• Debra Umberson, University of Texas-Austin

• Mieke Beth Thomeer, University of Texas-Austin

• Amy C. Lodge, University of Texas-Austin