New Sexism in Couple Therapy: A Discursive Analysis

• Author: Amanda Le Couteur,Olga Sutherland,Carla Rice,Andrea LaMarre,Laura Hardt
• Date: 01 September 2017
• Published date: 01 September 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12292

New Sexism in Couple Therapy: A Discursive

Analysis

OLGA SUTHERLAND*

ANDREA LAMARRE*

CARLA RICE*

LAURA HARDT*

AMANDA LE COUTEUR

†

The persistence of gender inequality in postindustrial societies is puzzling in light of a

plethora of changes that destabilize it, including shifts in economy, legislation, and the

proliferation of feminist politics. In family relations, such persistence manifests as a dis-

connect between couples aspiring to be more egalitarian yet continuing to enact traditional

gender roles and hierarchies. There is an emerging consensus that gender inequality per-

sists because of people’s continued reliance on sexist ideology or gendered assumptions that

constitute women as innately distinct from and inferior to men. Sexist ideology changes its

form to accommodate to changing socio-economic conditions. Contemporary forms of sex-

ism are old ways of legitimizing male power articulated in new and creative ways, often by

incorporating feminist arguments. To effectively recognize and address “new sexism,”

scholars and practitioners require new, innovative research frameworks. Our objective in

writing this article is two-fold. First, we seek to advance discursive (i.e., focused on lan-

guage in use) approaches to the study of sexism. Second, we present the results of a discur-

sive analysis of “new” sexist discourse in the context of couple therapy. The study provides

preliminary evidence that, despite endorsing egalitarian norms, couples studied continue

to rely on gender binaries and remain entrenched in old-fashioned patterns of gender

inequality. Implications of these results for the practice of couple therapy and for future

research are discussed.

Keywords: Sexism; Gender; Membership Categorization Analysis; Discursive Psychology;

Conversation Analysis; Couple Therapy; Couple Relationships

Fam Proc 56:686–700, 2017

Despite changes in gender ideology in liberal democratic societies, gender inequalities

within intimate relationships persist (Boeri, Del Boca, & Pissarides, 2005; Kan &

Gershuny, 2010). The ideological image of male breadwinner and female homemaker has

*Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.

†

School of Psychology, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Olga Sutherland, Couple and Family

Therapy Program, Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph, Guelph,

ON N1G 2W1, Canada. E-mail: osutherl@uoguelph.ca

The authors would like to thank clients and therapists, and other individuals who helped develop the

archive of therapy sessions mobilized in this article. This work was supported by funding from the Canada

Foundation for Innovation and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Special

thanks to Clare MacMartin, Eleftheria Tseliou, Christopher Quinn-Nilas, Kevin VanDerZwet Stafford,

William Cooke, Lorna Martin, and journal reviewers for their helpful comments.

686

Family Process, Vol. 56, No. 3, 2017 ©2017 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12292