I thank Peter Stillman for a very cogent post. And I agree with him about Roy's initial
contribution. By the way, I just realized that my sentence:  "Some feminist economists
worry that this assumption of altruism ...etc etc." uses a double negative which gives the
opposite meaning. It is logically inconsistent to ascribe altruism to the male head in the
family without any scrutiny.
  
Tony Brewer makes a valid point that the explicit assumption of masculinity as rationality
will not be found in most economics journal articles. Feminist economists try to reveal
the implicit gendered assumptions of  economic theory, which are imbedded in its core and
its method. The very  'objectivity' claimed by the discipline is a good starting point. I
cannot imagine premier journals generally seeking out or being hospitable to such
explorations.
   
In addition to the JEL article of Julie Nelson recommended by Mat Forstater, I have
following suggestions for the interested parties:
   
1. Marianne A. Ferber and Julie A. Nelson. 1993. "Introduction", in Beyond Economic Man,
eds. Marianne A. Ferber and Julie A. Nelson.
   
2. Paula England. 1993. "The Separative Self: Androcentric Bias in Neoclassical
Assumptions" in Beyond Economic Man, eds. Marianne A. Ferber and Julie A. Nelson.
   
3. Nancy Folbre. 1986. "New perspectives on households and economic development", Journal
of Development Economics, 22 5-40. North Holland.
   
4. Barbara R. Bergmann. 1995. "Becker's Theory of the Family: Preposterous Conclusions,
Feminist Economics, Vol. 1, no. 1/March 1995.
   
Cheers,  
   
Sumitra Shah