Table of Contents
Definition of Joint Conjugal-role Relationship
(noun) A relationship consisting of a nongendered division of labor in a household between partners.
Example of Joint Conjugal-role Relationship
- In a heterosexual couple, the male and female share domestic labor tasks equally.
Etymology of Joint Conjugal-role Relationship
- Coined by Elizabeth Bott (now Elizabeth Spillius) (1924–2016) in Family and Social Networks: Roles, Norms, and External Relationships in Ordinary Urban Families (1957).
Joint Conjugal-role Relationship Pronunciation
Syllabification: joint con·ju·gal role re·la·tion·ship
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /jOInt kAHn-jiguhl-rOHl ri-lAY-shuhn-ship/
- British English – /jOInt kOn-juguhl-rohl ri-lAY-shuhn-ship/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ʤɔɪnt ˈkɑnʤəgəl-roʊl riˈleɪʃənˌʃɪp/
- British English – /ʤɔɪnt ˈkɒnʤʊgəl-rəʊl rɪˈleɪʃənʃɪp/
Usage Notes
- Plural: joint conjugal role relationships
- The term symmetrical family, coined by Michael Young (1915–2002) and Peter Willmott (1923–2000) in The Symmetrical Family (1973), based on research in England, describing the evolution of the family structure towards a more egalitarian model of a joint conjugal-role relationship instead of segregated conjugal-role relationship. The implications and criticisms of this work are frequently discussed in the social sciences.
Additional Information
- Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “joint” and “conjugal” and “role” and “relationship” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
- blended family
- conjugal family
- divorced family
- family life cycle
- family of orientation
- family planning
- family of procreation
- marriage
- nuclear family
- subfamily
Cite the Definition of Joint Conjugal-role Relationship
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “joint conjugal-role relationship.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 23, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/joint-conjugal-role-relationship/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
joint conjugal-role relationship. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/joint-conjugal-role-relationship/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “joint conjugal-role relationship.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/joint-conjugal-role-relationship/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“joint conjugal-role relationship.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/joint-conjugal-role-relationship/>.