Doing Housework, Redoing Gender: Queer Couples Negotiate the Household Division of Labor

Drawing on interviews with 30 queer participants who are currently cohabitating with a partner, we examine accounts of the negotiation of the household division of labor. We expand the scope of previous research to assess housework and child care practices among both sexual and gender minorities. We find that queer couples' accounts of their arrangements are shaped by time availability and personal preferences as well as broader social context, such as labor force participation and citizenship. We suggest the division of domestic labor in these queer couples represents an opportunity for redoing gender through challenging normative gender roles and creating alternatives for how gender shapes social life.