Previous research has shown that many couple relationships strive towards a moreequal relationship through negotiations within the household. However, this has beendictated when it comes to heterosexual relationships. The purpose of this study is to getan explanation of how male couples in relationships within a household navigate theirway through everyday life with an emphasis on household tasks and unpaid work. Thedata in the study has been gathered through a qualitative research method where nineinterviews have been conducted, four of which were couple interviews and five weresingle interviews. Our empirical data are analyzed on the basis of the theoreticalframework and concepts that we present in this study and should clarify howhomosexual men do or deviate from doing gender, with an emphasis on negotiationwithin the household. A definition of the concepts of sex and gender is made to clarify the differencebetween them. The theories used in this study are thoroughly explained in the studyand are as follows: Gender roles, gender-creating theory (doing gender theory), gendercontracts and gender order. Based on our interviewees, we can conclude that the vastmajority of homosexual men who was interviewed had conducted a formal negotiationwhether the negotiation took place before the relationship began or at the beginning.The majority of our interviewees also made gender by imitating the heterosexual scriptand creating categorization of male and female tasks to make the division morerecognizable and socially ingrained.

Violence against women is an issue faced by women all over the world. Violence conducted by a partner or husband is the most common form of violence that women are targeted by. Intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) is internationally recognized as a human rights violation as well as a major global health issue. Economic empowerment is sometimes presented as means to reduce this violence. However, if it generates protection or increased risk is debated and contradictory findings characterize the research field. This study aims to contribute by testing the two main theories (the marital dependency theory and the relative resource theory) within a previously unstudied setting: the national level. The Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regressions find a negative relationship between female labor force participation and physical and sexual IPV prevalence among women. Support is thereby provided for the marital dependency theory. No relationship at all is found when focusing on attitudes towards physical IPVAW and the conclusion emphasis that economic empowerment is helpful but not sufficient as a national strategy to reduce intimate partner violence targeting women.