This article explores the complex interactions among gender, power, and desire in the construction of personal relationships among a group of 92 female managers. The participants inhabited senior and middle managerial or professional positions in five different work sectors. The data were collected through in-depth interviews and a written questionnaire. Experiences and perceptions of past and current personal relationships are explored and interpreted through a gender analysis. The interaction between managerial careers and relationships in the private sphere are examined, and the connection between power and social/sexual desirability is investigated. Major conclusions drawn include that the structure of desire is resistant to change, that gendered marital expectations are still influencing the way that marital relationships are lived out, that new constructions of personal relationships are more likely to be played out in new relationships, and that the link between social/sexual desirability and power is gendered.
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