Couples’ Gender Ideological Pairings and Sexual Frequency

Natalie Nitsche, Australian National University
Viktoria Oellers , Goethe Universität Frankfurt
Daniela Grunow, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main

Gender attitudes of either partner have emerged as one of the most consistent predictors of gendered family dynamics in couples. Linkages between couples’ gender ideology and their work divisions have been extensively studied, however, very little is known on partners’ gender ideology and their intimate lives. This is a significant research gap at a time when legal gender equality has been achieved in many social contexts, yet gender inequalities are persistent and have largely shifted from public and legal to informal and relational spaces. Our study addresses this research gap. We examine whether and how couples’ gender ideological pairings are linked with their sexual lives, more precisely, their sexual frequency. Leaning on sexual scripting theory, we hypothesize that matching gender traditional couples have the highest sexual frequency, while mismatched couples with an egalitarian man have the lowest sexual frequency. Using data from the German Panel Analysis for Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics (pairfam) and panel regressions, results indeed indicate the highest sexual frequency among couples with shared gender traditional attitudes. Findings for the other couple types are less clear cut. Future versions of this study will explore some of the underlying mechanisms of these findings.

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 Presented in Session 86. Partner Selection