Abstract
Couples complete a range of relationship practices to sustain their long-term partnerships. Relationship work here is more than the drudgeries of domesticity. It offers couples the opportunity to embrace their relationship – through the pleasures of physical closeness – and to nurture their relationship – emotionally, practically and symbolically through practices of togetherness which carve out shared time and create couple memories. The personal meanings of relationship work are valued more than their cultural reference points; knowing gestures and familiar relationship practices demonstrate intimate depth of understanding and investment in the long-term couple relationship. Ordinary everyday activities are often perceived as the most meaningful, for example mothers particularly valued being made a cup of tea and/or breakfast in bed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Beck, U. (2000). Living Your Own Life in a Runaway World: Individualization, Globalization and Politics. In W. Hutton & A. Giddens (Eds.), On the Edge: Living with Global Capitalism (pp. 164–174). London: Cape.
Coleman, L. (2011). Improving Relationship Satisfaction – Qualitative Insights Derived from Individuals Currently within a Couple Relationship. Family Journal, 19(4), 369–380.
Coltrane, S. (1996). Family Man: Fatherhood, Housework and Gender Equity. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Doucet, A. (1995). Gender Equality and Gender Difference in Household Work and Parenting. Women’s Studies International Forum, 18(3), 271–284.
Duncombe, J., & Marsden, D. (1993). Love and Intimacy: The Gender Division of Emotion and ‘Emotion Work’. A Neglected Aspect of Sociological Discussion of Heterosexual Relationships. Sociology, 27(2), 221–241.
Ernst, E., Rand, J. I., & Stevinson, C. (1998). Complementary Therapies for Depression: An Overview. Archives of General Psychiatry, 55(11), 1026–1032.
Finch, J. (1983). Married to the Job: Wives’ Incorporation in Men’s Work. London: Allen and Unwin.
Gabb, J. (2008). Researching Intimacy in Families. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Gabb, J. (2013). Embodying Risk: Managing Father–Child Intimacy and the Display of Nudity in Families. Sociology, 47(4), 639–654.
Gabb, J., Klett-Davies, M., Fink, J., & Thomae, M. (2013). Enduring Love? Couple Relationships in the 21st Century. Survey Findings Report. Milton Keynes: The Open University. Retrieved from http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/enduringlove/files/enduringlove/file/ecms/web-content/Final-Enduring-Love-Survey-Report.pdf.
Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Goldberg, A. E. (2013). ‘Doing’ and ‘Undoing’ Gender: The Meaning and Division of Housework in Same-Sex Couples. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 5, 85–104.
Heaphy, B., Smart, C., & Einarsdottir, A. (2013). Same Sex Marriages: New Generations, New Relationships. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hochschild, A. R. (1979). Emotion Work, Feeling Rules and Social Structure. American Journal of Sociology, 85, 551–575.
Hochschild, A. R. (1989). The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home. New York, NY: Viking.
Hochschild, A. R. (2003). The Commercialization of Intimate Life: Notes from Home and Work. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Jamieson, L. (1998). Intimacy: Personal Relationships in Modern Societies. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Kipnis, L. (1998). Adultery. Critical Inquiry, 24(2), 289–327.
Kipnis, L. (2004). Against Love: A Polemic. London: Vintage.
Klett-Davies, M., & Skaliotis, E. (2009). Mothers, Childcare and the Work-Life Balance. In S. A. Hunt (Ed.), Family Trends – British Families Since the 1950s. London: Family & Parenting Institute.
Langford, W. (1999). Revolutions of the Heart. Gender, Power and the Delusions of Love. London: Routledge.
Oakley, A. (2005). The Ann Oakley Reader. Bristol: The Policy Press.
ONS. (2012). Divorces in England and Wales – 2011. Statistical Bulletin. Retrieved from http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_291750.pdf
Relationships Alliance. (2013). Focusing on Couples. The Guardian, 7 November. Retrieved 29 October 2014, from http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/nov/07/focusing-couples-relationships
Smart, C. (2007). Personal Life. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Szabo, M. (2014). Men Nurturing through Food: Challenging Gender Dichotomies around Domestic Cooking. Journal of Gender Studies, 23(1), 18–31.
Walker, J., Barrett, H., Wilson, G., & Chang, Y.-S. (2010). Understanding the Needs of Adults (Particularly Parents) Regarding Relationship Support. Research Brief DCSF-RBX-10-01. London: DCFS.
Wetherell, M. (2012). Affect and Emotion. A New Social Science Understanding. London: Sage.
Zelizer, V. A. (2005). The Purchase of Intimacy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gabb, J., Fink, J. (2018). Relationship Work. In: Couple Relationships in the 21st Century. Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59698-3_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59698-3_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-59697-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-59698-3
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)