Race, Gender, and Social Exchange in Young Adult Unions

Abstract

Social scientists often conceptualize romantic partner selection as an asymmetric exchange in which partners of different race or gender offer different desired qualities. For example, white women might leverage racial status into upward mobility by marrying socioeconomically advantaged minority men, or minority women might exchange beauty, sexual access, and domestic services for white men’s higher racial status and income. However, such approaches frequently assume gender and race asymmetry in preferences—for example, that men attach greater value to potential partners’ physical attractiveness than women do. These assumptions may be unwarranted, especially among contemporary young couples. In turn, assuming asymmetry in exchange can generate misleading results if partnering patterns are actually symmetric. Accordingly, we use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), including a supplementary sample of romantic partners, to reconsider recent findings with an emphasis on evaluating (a)symmetry.

Acknowledgments

We thank Jessica L. Collett, Erin McDonnell, Jennifer Jones, and Amy Langenkamp for their helpful comments on this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elizabeth Aura McClintock

Elizabeth Aura McClintock is an Assistant Professor in Sociology at the University of Notre Dame. She studies the intersection of individuals’ professional and personal lives, contextualizing romantic and family outcomes within structures of inequality and employment. Her recent articles appear in American Sociological Review, Journal of Marriage and Family, and Sex Roles.

Shannon Zoe Sheehan

Shannon Zoe Sheehan is a graduate student in Sociology at the University of Michigan.