The Rhetoric of Inequality: Nordic Women and Men Argue against Sharing House‐work

Abstract

This article analyses anti‐equality talk in heterosexual couples who participated in a Nordic study of daily life in families with children. A substantial proportion of the interviewees—women as well as men—argued against “more equality” in their relationship and in society in general. Their arguments show several similarities to sexist attitudes expressed in all‐male conversations. Using the analytical tools of feminist discursive psychology, the article considers in the first place the cultural resources that these couples recruited to support their arguments. Seven interpretative repertoires were identified and illustrated, including “practical considerations”, gendered and gender‐neutral individualism, individual differences and sex differences, motherhood, and the primacy of domestic peace. Secondly, inspired by conversation analysis, the article details common rhetorical techniques of “fact construction” that speakers use in their narratives to gain credibility for anti‐equality sentiment. The focus is on how the speakers used descriptions and explanations in ways that construct anti‐equality opinions as “facts” based on seemingly objective observations, thus serving to further de‐legitimate equality arguments.

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