title: Gendered power in cultural contexts: Part II. Middle class African American heterosexual couples with young children.
abstract: When race and gender intersect, understanding gendered power may be complicated. The authors first describe the historical context that serves as important background for understanding gender and power in heterosexual African American relationships. Then they show how family solidarity in the face of social injustices often overrides gender equality as a goal for middle class African American couples with young children. The findings illustrate pragmatic equality within couple relationships and the willful suspension of gender roles for the well-being of the family as a whole. However, gendered power impacts couples in a variety of ways. Sometimes a woman's fear that the man might leave, for example, diminished her power in the relationship. Often a woman accommodated a man's greater power in the family because of her perception that he was often denied power in the larger society. Societal discrimination of women was less visible to couples. Implications for practice are provided.
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Psychology, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Randi S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Cowdery
authors.forename: Norma
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Scarborough
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Knudson-Martin
authors.forename: Gita
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Seshadri
authors.forename: Monique E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: Anne Rankin
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Mahoney
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D003469:Culture; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D020010:Heterosexuality; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011287:Prejudice; D012923:Social Class; D018454:Spouses; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult