I was talking about this with someone I know recently. It seems when a woman has all the power she uses the man for money and attention (but no sex), has him Run her errands, listen to her talk about her problems, etc.

When a man has the power he uses the woman sexually with no strings attached, uses her for money,

Both sides are also more able to engage in rude and hurtful behavior (cheating, being mean, being selfish, etc) and the other party puts up with it when there is an imbalance.

So what causes these imbalances? One factor would be looks, the bigger the gap in physical attractiveness the more likely things turn dysfunctional.

Another would be money, but in different ways. A woman may feel dependent on a man with more money, a man may feel emasculated by a woman with more money.

Then there is self esteem vs confidence. Someone who doesn't value themselves is going to have it hard than someone who does.

Emotional attachment. The person with less emotions invested has more power.

My point is is there an agreed upon list of reasons a power imbalance would arise in a relationship, and is there an agreed upon list of behaviors either gender engages in when abusing that power imbalance?