Sex and Power in Marriage

Jay Haley never failed to deliver subtle and original ideas about any topic, and he was not afraid to weigh into controversial ones like male-female hierarchy in marriage. This chapter focuses on power and hierarchy in family relationships, Haley challenges the core feminist idea that greater male power in society translates into more power in the family. Working women have less need for it, and single-parent family and stepfamily forms have thrown traditional gendered power assumptions up for grabs. The idea that women can be dominant in the family and men dominant outside the family is becoming more accepted and raises issues about the different structures of power. Power struggles begin which lead to the breakup of the family if the love which brought the couple together is not sufficient to survive the conflict. Placing the children within this struggle provides hierarchical confusion and gives children unacceptable power.