當丈夫不再為經濟的靠山時：夫妻間的權力與運作過程

The Marital Power Processes of Couples which Husbands are Economically Dependent

隨社會經濟結構的變遷，丈夫因為賺食失利，反成為經濟依賴者的風險增加。當然傳統與主流的價值偏好，仍期待以丈夫為主要賺食，於是賺食理想與現實落差的夫妻們，由賺食模式失衡而來的權力真實與兩性議題，不僅是「夫妻權力究竟是資源還是規範」的學術論辯，更且是兩性平權追隨者的關注所在。本研究在設計上，以符合「夫在經濟上有求於妻」或是「以妻為主要賺食」的標準，選擇來自精神科醫院家庭治療門診的四對夫妻，以詮釋性微觀的質性方法，針對四對夫妻長期演變的治療過程錄影，進行分析。探究夫妻在積極希望改變對方的互動裡，對於夫妻「所採改變對方的策略」與「面對對方改變策略的因應」以及「改變的成效」如何，所共同交織的權務面貌進行捕捉與描繪。研究結果顯示，違反傳統賺食模式夫妻的權力面貌，的確是經濟資源與性別規範共同作用的結果。經濟資源確保妻子們權力提昇，似乎只在夫對於妻有迫切的經濟需求時發生。當丈夫並未有經濟的急迫性，則妻的經濟資源反激發壓制妻的「性別矯飾」機制，造成妻的權力妨礙。再者本文分析治療者對夫妻權力造成的影響，治療者透過促進平等對話與夫妻合作的形成，影響個人在規範力支配下，有更多元的性別表現與個人抉擇。

Based on information involving 4 couples for whom wives earned more than their husbands and wanted their partners to make changes, this article analyzed how the normative gender ideology and economic resources co-operate in and shape the marital power. We found wives could exercise more power only when husbands wanted economic help from them. Spouses often demonstrated a joint effort to ensure the unconventional did not feel too unconventional. The costs of being perceived as deviant from the gender-norm were minimized by gender strategies. Gender ideology and gender strategies which neutralizing deviance usually made wives more disadvantaged. This article also demonstrated what Komter called the hidden power in marriage and highlighted how these couples used gender strategies in ways that reinforced the husband’s power. And we found that these resources were gendered sufficiently so that they were less important or less powerful when contributed by wives.