Song studies the relations between social inequality and family diversity in the context of contemporary America. He examines the causes and consequences of diverse family processes (e.g., marriage, parenting, and the division of labor) and unravels the mechanisms through which they are linked to stratification processes within and across generations. One emphasis is the role of structural contexts (e.g., state policies, COVID-19 pandemic) in shaping family lives.
A significant portion of this line of work now focuses on “Family Inequality: The Social Organization of Family Life of Sexual Minorities”, based on his dissertation. Against the background of the legalization of same-sex marriage in the U.S., he combines representative datasets to explore the structural intersection of gender and sexuality and speaks to the theoretical puzzle of “doing” and “undoing” gender. More broadly, he highlights sexuality as an understudied axis of inequality v. gender, race, and class. Considering the similarities and distinctions between these stratifying axes, he asked: could LGBTQ+ people ”do” family differently from heterosexual counterparts to promote equity at home and beyond? This line further includes two topics:
A. Assortative Mating
Publications:
1- Song, Haoming. 2025. “Same-Sex Marriage Market Opportunity and Racial Exogamy: Testing the Availability Thesis.” Journal of Marriage and Family. [link]
2- Song, Haoming. 2025. “Crossing Which Boundary? New Evidence on Racial and Educational Assortative Mating Among Recent Different-Sex and Same-Sex Marriages.” Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World. [link]
Current Projects:
1- Song, Haoming. “The Family Inequality Puzzle: A Critical Review on Sexual Minority Families” [In progress, invited journal contribution]
2- Song, Haoming. “Intersectional Social Exclusion: A Conjoint Survey Experiment on Sexual Minority Partnering” [Under Review, RSF Grant Competition]
B. Division of Labor, Work, and Family
Current Projects:
1- Song, Haoming. “Revisiting Earning and Housework Among Same-Sex Couples” [Working paper]
2- Song, Haoming. Elena Pojman*, Jisu (Jason) Park*. “Gendered Occupation and Housework Division in Different-Sex and Same-Sex Couples”[In Prep]
C. Family Diversity and Inequality
Current Projects:
1. Kate Choi, Haoming Song. “Maternal childcare time between mothers in interracial and racially endogamous unions.” [Under Review]
2. Song, Haoming. “New evidence on gendered housework time before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic” [Working paper]
Publications:
1. Song, Haoming. 2021. “The Unequal Consequences of Family Structure on Infant Health.” Social Science Research. [link]
2.Song, Haoming. 2022. “Women’s Divergent Union Transitions after Marital Dissolution in the U.S.” Population Research and Policy Review. [link]
3. Emily Rauscher, Haoming Song. 2022. “Learning to Value Girls: Balanced Infant Sex Ratios at Higher parental Education in the U.S. 1969-2018.” Demography. [link]
4. Daniel Lichter, Zhenchao Qian, Haoming Song. 2022. “Gender, union formation, and assortative mating among older Americans” Social Science Research. [link]
5. Margot Jackson, Haoming Song, Ariel Kalil. 2024. “State-level safety net spending and educational gaps in maternal time with children.” Journal of Marriage and Family[link].
