"A Recipe for Disaster?": Female-Breadwinner Relationships Threaten Heterosexual Scripts.

Female breadwinner relationships (FBRs) occur when a woman earns more money than her male romantic partner. In four studies, we used diverse methods to document the threat that FBRs pose to heterosexual scripts (i.e., social conventions for heterosexual romance). First, a reflexive thematic analysis...

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Published in:Sex Roles Vol. 91; no. 3; pp. 1 - 27
Main Authors: Fisher, Alexandra N., Stinson, Danu Anthony, Kalajdzic, Anastasija, Dupuis, Hannah E., Lowey, Erin E., Desgrosseilliers, Elysia, MacIntosh, Annie
Format: Article
Published: Springer Nature Mar2025
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: "A Recipe for Disaster?": Female-Breadwinner Relationships Threaten Heterosexual Scripts.
      aug:
        au:
          Fisher, Alexandra N.
          Stinson, Danu Anthony
          Kalajdzic, Anastasija
          Dupuis, Hannah E.
          Lowey, Erin E.
          Desgrosseilliers, Elysia
          MacIntosh, Annie
        affil:
          https://ror.org/01nrxwf90 Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, EH8 9JZ, Edinburgh, UK
          https://ror.org/04s5mat29 Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada
      su:
        Women employees
        Family roles
        Income
        Social stigma
        Attitudes toward gender role
        Relationship quality
        Men's attitudes
        Self-perception
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          Women employees
          Family roles
          Income
          Social stigma
          Attitudes toward gender role
          Relationship quality
          Men's attitudes
          Self-perception
      keyword:
        Communication and Culture Cultural Studies
        Gender equality
        Gender nonconforming
        Gender roles
        Interpersonal relationships
        Sex roles
        Studies in Human Society Other Studies In Human Society Language
        Communication and Culture Cultural Studies
        Gender equality
        Gender nonconforming
        Gender roles
        Interpersonal relationships
        Sex roles
        Studies in Human Society Other Studies In Human Society Language
      ab: Female breadwinner relationships (FBRs) occur when a woman earns more money than her male romantic partner. In four studies, we used diverse methods to document the threat that FBRs pose to heterosexual scripts (i.e., social conventions for heterosexual romance). First, a reflexive thematic analysis of 94 newspaper and magazine articles about FBRs identified themes concerning social stigma and feelings of gender threat (i.e., co-occurring feelings of gender nonconformity and inadequacy) that undermine well-being for FBRs, alongside themes concerning hope for a more egalitarian future. Next, two pre-registered experiments (Ns = 880 and 1612) revealed stigmatizing attitudes towards FBRs, which were perceived to be less desirable, worse quality, and less stable than male-breadwinner relationships. Finally, a cross-sectional study of married women and men (N = 511) affirmed that feelings of gender threat partially explained FBRs' poor relationship outcomes. Across all four studies, and consistent with theories of fragile masculinity, men suffered worse gender threat than women in FBRs. These findings offer novel insight into heterosexual scripts and the punishing social consequences for people who violate those scripts and suggest that social stigma about FBRs may pose a barrier to gender equality in close relationships and in society.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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