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Explaining persistent inequalities in the division of household labor amid secular change in women's employment patterns and in sex-role attitudes remains a challenge for sociologists and economists. The predominant conceptual solutions draw from a unifying paradigm of genderneutral exchange, and furthermore align with economic or quasi-economic images of purposive action. This article analyzes three models from this class of explanations—the human capital theory of household time allocation, the resource-bargaining perspective on marital power, and the economic dependency model—using data from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. The results fail to support any of the three variations on the theme of gender neutrality in the principles governing the division of household labor. Instead, the pattern of negative findings provokes consideration of how husbands' and wives' housework behavior might serve as a vehicle of symbolic display. Evidence is presented suggesting that among couples whose earnings arrangement seriously deviates from the gender norm, housework is used symbolically to reassert one's “essential” masculinity or femininity. Overall, the results support a more expansive view of spousal exchange as a means of addressing the puzzle of why housework remains “women's work.”

Changes in the nature of marriage have spurred a debate about the consequences of shifts to more egalitarian relationships, and media interest in the debate has crystallized around claims that men who participate in housework get more sex. However, little systematic or representative research supports the claim that women, in essence, exchange sex for men’s participation in housework. Although research and theory support the expectation that egalitarian marriages are higher quality, other studies underscore the ongoing importance of traditional gender behavior and gender display in marriage. Using data from Wave II of the National Survey of Families and Households, this study investigates the links between men’s participation in core (traditionally female) and non-core (traditionally male) household tasks and sexual frequency. Results show that both husbands and wives in couples with more traditional housework arrangements report higher sexual frequency, suggesting the importance of gender display rather than marital exchange for sex between heterosexual married partners.

This is the third in a series of six articles describing a comprehensive and in-depth evaluation of a case management program initiated by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries in September 1993. The purpose of the program was to provide the coordination of health and medical services for workers who sustained injuries categorized as either catastrophic (e.g., spinal cord injury with paralysis, amputated limbs) or medically complex (e.g., secondary conditions that complicate recovery, chronic pain syndrome). The conceptual framework that guided the activities of this study is based on a quality assessment model. Quality assessment approaches are used to obtain information about the structures, processes, and outcomes that characterize a program. This information leads to recommendations related to appropriate action that can be taken to safeguard and enhance the efficie