ABSTRACT
For a number of good and not so good reasons there has been a tendency towards an unfortunate division of labour within the academy between those interested in sexuality and those interested in gender and gender inequalities. In this chapter, the author considers briefly why lesbian experience is relevant for broader questions about gender, work and family life and summarises some of the more interesting themes which emerged in the Lesbian Household Project. A wide range of methods, both qualitative and quantitative, innovative and conventional, were employed to illuminate the work and caring strategies of 43 lesbian households, including 37 with dependent children. The author suggests that, unhampered by the emotional, sexual and financial constraints of heterosexuality, respondents could choose to include men on the basis of the qualities they can bring into children’s lives, though this involvement was a matter of choice for the men.
