Critical Commentary #1
Gender hierarchies are not a new concept; however, the idea that there may be hierarchies within a single gender is still relatively unknown. Within heterosexual households, the mother is still viewed in a caregiving role, while the father takes on the breadwinning responsibilities; stepfathers are expected to take a backseat in childrearing while stepmothers are encouraged to form emotional attachments with their stepchildren (Moore, 2008). Same-sex couples on the other hand, have been found by prior research to live a more egalitarian lifestyle (Moore, 2008). Not surprisingly, the statement above has yet to be truly verified, and upon closer inspection it appears that lesbian couples reinforce gendered interactions …show more content…
Due to the fact that this ideology helps define what a lesbian headed household looks like, it is surprising that both elements of this ideology are not necessarily unique-or egalitarian-at all. Since the majority of African-American households are lead by women, it would be likely that upon coupling with another black woman, both partners would have their own finances. Additionally, stepfamilies in general are more likely to have separate accounts, as it represents economic freedom in case the union does not workout (Moore, 2008). Thus this first element representing egalitarianism is not unique to same-sex families at all; in fact, economic freedom appears to be a more defining characteristic of step-families in general, not same-sex …show more content…
One notable variable looked at in this study was how the physical representation of gender impacted household roles. By dividing lesbian couples into “less” feminine or “more” feminine, it removes the equality between a couple in that gender roles are somehow being assigned despite that they are both female. The less feminine partner takes on household duties that are traditionally male roles, while the biological mother, at least in this article, is the femme-identified lesbian. How do these gender roles hold up when the less feminine partner is the biological mother? Out of all the cases in Moore’s article, not once does it touch on how gender roles and power roles may change in the event that the more feminine partner is the stepmother. While this article seemingly makes same-sex couples look considerably more traditional in their roles than one would think, it is also based off of families where the more feminine partner is the mother; is it possible that egalitarianism in same-sex relationships is dependent on which partner is the biological parent? If the butch-identified partner were the biological mother, would the household then play out as it would in a father-stepmother family? Or would the traditional gender roles prevail, as they seem to do in this
Gender hierarchies are not a new concept; however, the idea that there may be hierarchies within a single gender is still relatively unknown. Within heterosexual households, the mother is still viewed in a caregiving role, while the father takes on the breadwinning responsibilities; stepfathers are expected to take a backseat in childrearing while stepmothers are encouraged to form emotional attachments with their stepchildren (Moore, 2008). Same-sex couples on the other hand, have been found by prior research to live a more egalitarian lifestyle (Moore, 2008). Not surprisingly, the statement above has yet to be truly verified, and upon closer inspection it appears that lesbian couples reinforce gendered interactions …show more content…
Due to the fact that this ideology helps define what a lesbian headed household looks like, it is surprising that both elements of this ideology are not necessarily unique-or egalitarian-at all. Since the majority of African-American households are lead by women, it would be likely that upon coupling with another black woman, both partners would have their own finances. Additionally, stepfamilies in general are more likely to have separate accounts, as it represents economic freedom in case the union does not workout (Moore, 2008). Thus this first element representing egalitarianism is not unique to same-sex families at all; in fact, economic freedom appears to be a more defining characteristic of step-families in general, not same-sex …show more content…
One notable variable looked at in this study was how the physical representation of gender impacted household roles. By dividing lesbian couples into “less” feminine or “more” feminine, it removes the equality between a couple in that gender roles are somehow being assigned despite that they are both female. The less feminine partner takes on household duties that are traditionally male roles, while the biological mother, at least in this article, is the femme-identified lesbian. How do these gender roles hold up when the less feminine partner is the biological mother? Out of all the cases in Moore’s article, not once does it touch on how gender roles and power roles may change in the event that the more feminine partner is the stepmother. While this article seemingly makes same-sex couples look considerably more traditional in their roles than one would think, it is also based off of families where the more feminine partner is the mother; is it possible that egalitarianism in same-sex relationships is dependent on which partner is the biological parent? If the butch-identified partner were the biological mother, would the household then play out as it would in a father-stepmother family? Or would the traditional gender roles prevail, as they seem to do in this