Intimate Power: Negotiation of Gender Roles by Examining Language and Emotions

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Gender equality has been at the forefront of the millennial generation, but little sociological attention has been on understanding how heterosexual and same-sex couples’ negotiate egalitarian dynamics from a queer perspective. This paper reports in-depth, semi-structured interviews from six millennial relationships (i.e., three heterosexual and three same-sex couples). Respondents were asked about how they behave and perceive their relationship. Specifically, how they negotiate the beginning of their relationship, how they negotiate their time spent together and apart, emotional work, and perceived power-dynamic within their relationship. The paper brings to light the negotiation of power-dynamics within a contemporary romantic relationship derived from a diverse set of millennial couples from a queer perspective.