Journal of Iranian Social Studies

The Reproduction of Gender Domination and the Erosion of Marital Intimacy: A Process Model of the Care-Bonding Cycle

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Mahsa Mirhoseini 1
SeyedAlireza Afshani 2
Hossein Afrasiabi 3
Maliheh Alimondegari 4

1 PhD Student of Sociology of Social Problems of Iran, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran.

2 Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

3 Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran.

4 Associate Professor of Demography, Department of Demography and Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran.

10.22034/jss.2026.2094673.1970
Abstract
Background and aim: Marital intimacy is a fundamental component of the quality of marital relationships and family well-being. However, the social and relational mechanisms contributing to its erosion have received comparatively limited attention. This study aimed to explain the process of reproducing gender domination and how it is linked to the erosion of marital intimacy.
Data and method: This qualitative study employed Charmaz’s constructivist grounded theory approach. Participants were 29 married women and men from Yazd, Iran, selected through purposive maximum-variation sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using initial, focused, and theoretical coding, constant comparison, and theoretical memo-writing.
Findings: The findings showed that gender domination does not directly reduce marital intimacy; rather, it operates through a gradual and cumulative process. The reproduction of gender norms and unequal power relations constrains couples’ capacity to recognize each other’s needs and provide responsive care. This disruption weakens mutual recognition and perceptions of relational justice, ultimately leading to the erosion of emotional capital and a decline in marital intimacy. Based on these findings, a processual model of the Care-Bonding Cycle of Erosion was conceptualized.
Conclusion: The model demonstrates that marital intimacy develops through a dynamic cycle of need recognition, caring responsiveness, mutual recognition, and relational justice. Disruption of this cycle shifts the relationship from a pathway of care-based bonding toward a pathway of erosion. The primary contribution of this study is its processual explanation of how unequal power relations are transformed into the gradual erosion of emotional bonds within marital life.

Keywords

Marital intimacy
Gender domination
Care-Bonding
Mutual recognition
Relational justice
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Journal of Iranian Social Studies

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 24 August 2026

  • Receive Date 16 July 2026
  • Accept Date 19 August 2026
  • First Publish Date 24 August 2026
  • Publish Date 24 August 2026

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