Study: Equality Extends to Parenting for Same-Sex Couples

“There's a female culture of husband bashing [in heterosexual relationships] which is quite alien to me,” says 41-year-old Dr. Alison Rutherford, of the University of New South Wales, when asked about the Work, Love and Play study published by The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy. “I get jealous that the women don't have to be breadwinners as well as mothers, so there's always something to complain about.”

The Work, Love and Play study, which surveyed 317 same-sex parents and 958 heterosexual ones, focuses on the difference between child rearing in same-sex and heterosexual partnerships.

Dr. Rutherford and her partner, Dale Newman, are a same-sex couple with a three-year-old who both have part-time jobs. The family thumbs their noses at traditional gender roles, which usually dictate that the person who gave birth stays home and cares for the child. Dr. Rutherford is both bio-mom and primary breadwinner, and Newman, who works from home, has taken on the role of primary caregiver.

According to the study, while about six percent of heterosexual couples have chosen this road, same-sex partners seem to take a much more equal approach to child rearing. Researchers believe lack of gender lines may be the reason.