No abstract

Despite the very rich theoretical literature on marital power, recent empirical investigations on this subject have, in general, relied on disappointing measures of power. The empirically testable model developed in this article is an application of Blumberg's general theory of gender stratification to the contemporary American heterosexual couple. In the model, we concur with prior studies that identify economic power as the key variable in the power balance within a marital relationship. Our conceptualization of economic power, however, attempts to reflect the extremely complex nature of marital power. Thus we offer the notion of “overall economic power” and then suggest that there are a number of “discount factors” operating at both the macro and micro levels that affect the power balance, resulting in what we term “net economic power.” The fully elaborated model is dynamic, taking into account birth cohort differences, stable versus transitional relationships, and cross-class differences.

Gender bias in textbooks (

No abstract

Determinants of gender stratification range through every institutional sphere and every level of sociological analysis. An integrated theory is presented which charts the connections and feedbacks among three main blocks of causal factors and two blocks of outcomes. The GENDER ORGANIZATION OF PRODUCTION block includes the degree of compatibility between productive and reproductive labor, and determinants of the gender segregation of productive labor (including flows from other blocks). The GENDER ORGANIZATION OF REPRODUCTION includes demographic conditions, the social control of reproductive technologies, and the class and gender organization of parenting. SEXUAL POLITICS includes historical variations in family alliance politics, erotic status markets, and violent male groups. On the outcome side, GENDER RESOURCE MOBILIZATION centers on gender income and property, household organization, sexual coercion, and the distinctiveness of gender cultures. GENDER CONFLICTS involve the conditions for both gender movements and counter-movements, which feed back into the prior blocks of causal conditions. Despite rises in women's gender resources in recent decades, it is likely that gender conflicts will go on in new forms. An integrated theory makes it possible to examine alternative scenarios and policies of change in gender stratification of the future.