ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the opposites-attract personality traits Kalinda and Donna show within their relationship serve as the central point. It examines the everyday statuses and roles within the same-sex relationships. Both male and female same-sex couples reify the statuses and roles expected of men and women in heterosexual romantic relationships. But the reliance on the heteronormative gender binary proves more sinister for women as it is combined with long-held racist stereotypes. It argues that within their relationships, one partner still proves more "domestic" by focusing on the emotional connectivity of her partner and the relationship as a whole. Through their opposing levels of caregiving, opposing levels of emotionality and the damsel/protector scenarios, the gay male couples thoroughly perpetuate the model of having one person with opposite gender characteristics. In heterosexual relationships, men have more power. Also, there are gendered differences in decision making and emotional involvement.
