Gender Difference in Living Apart Together

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the attraction of a LAT lifestyle for women, in part based on indications from the social science literature from outside the United States and in part drawing on my interviews of women LATs in the United States and England. There are gender differences in living apart. LAT allows women to maintain their independence without forgoing the benefits of intimate relationships. For some women, who are intensely involved in their work lives, raising children from a previous marriage, or both, LAT offers a way to have a physically and emotionally supportive relationship when cohabitation or marriage would be difficult.