This article examines marital power dynamics in couples in which wives earn
more than their husbands, work in higher status occupations, or both to de
termine if wives with resource advantages are able to exercise greater powe
r in their relationships than wives in more conventional marriages. The res
ults do not bear out this hypothesis. This article argues that the logic of
resource and exchange theories breaks down when women bring more money and
status to the marital relationship. This suggests that the balance of mari
tal power is more closely related to gender than to income or status. This
article examines what Komter (1989) calls the hidden power in marriage and
highlights how these couples do gender in ways that reinforce the husband's
power.