Language and processes in the construction of equality in new marriages

This study examines how newly married couples respond to social-contextual factors which both encourage and inhibit marital equality. This analysis of in-depth interviews with 12 egalitarian heterosexual couples in their first year of marriage reveals that none of the couples fully meets the criteria Sor equal marriages defined in the study, although all the couples talked about their relationships using a "language of equality." Conscious confrontation of both gender and equality issues appeared to be a prerequisite for the possibility of marital equality. Yet most couples avoided these issues and developed a "myth of equality." Implications Soi couples, research, and practice are addressed.