Wives Do More Housework, Study Shows

Misandry (contempt or hatred for men)

Wow, this article admits that they IGNORE traditional male tasks around a house.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise! If we ignore the work men traditionally do, we can show that men are lazy.

The headline should be, "Study Ignores Traditional Male Household Tasks in Order to Make Men Look Bad (or to Make Women Look Good)

Houseworlk

Housework can and is a bone of contention with many couples married or otherwise, I am now retired from work but that doesn't mean you are retired in the home does it, there are still the daily chores etc. Although I don't work anymore my days are still filled with shopping and other aspects of running a home. My husband does help me but I do most of the housework I feel, and he does admit that, but in saying that he does do the decorating and garden and other tasks which is good and help's me regarding doing other things around the home I don't agree with this concept that housework is only a woman's job,if women work also it can be hard work doing the both as I have experienced this myself in the past, I like to keep a clean and tidy home but I anm not at it all of the time a happy medium is the best policy if you can manage it I think, some people find they worry over it that can make you ill, but a dirty home can be a hazard for your health and not good for your wellbeing'.

Very little housework

I only do the minimum of housework that I have to. I am more interested in my daughter, my horse and earning money. I really regret allowing my boyfriend to move in with me because he has tried to take over my life and says I don't do enough for him and don't keep the house tidy enough! Cheeky bloody pig, the sooner he goes the better. No-one tells me how to run my life and I will never be a domestic goddess cos it sucks! I'd rather be riding!!!!

Thirteen Hours???

Show me the man that does 13 hours of housework a week. I am lucky if my husband does 13 minutes.

A man's housework increases more than a woman's after marriage

The chart shows that marriage increase the man's housework more than the woman's. Let's look at what is really going on!!!

Good points made.

Well I can say from experience if it wasn't for women most or almost all men would live like cave men. I feel that most women are brought up or conditioned to do all of the work in the household. If the statics are even close to being right women have dominated the household chores since the dawn of time and even before that. When I was younger and had a child at a young age the mother did almost all of the housework. However when we separated I was forced to handle everything from housework to lawnwork to child care to school volunteer etc etc. With the up bringing of my daughter we both shared in all duties. I remember supervising her as she mowed the lawn. I think that gave her a different perspective on sharing the duties of the whole house. Now she's 17 years old and we still share the house work but now she gets an allowance for what she does.I think that both men and women should share the household duties as well as the duties for the whole house.I mean it shouldnt be hard at all to fold clothes or clean the bathrooms etc. By doing the little things makes "EVERYONE" a little more happier. :)

small success

I'd be happy if he did the following:

put the clothes IN the basket, not next to it or over it

helped wash the dishes

took the clean basket of stuff from the washer area to his closet

Yes, I HAVE asked him and spoken to him and tried many ways of persuasion.

However, if these are my only complaints after 10 yrs- my marriage is 99% perfect.

Deborah Kotz comment

Great points by M.S.! It seems we're becoming more perfectionistic in our tendencies and expectations. Check out the blog I wrote on this based on Alice Domar's new book Be Happy Without Being Perfect. Here's the linik.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/on-women/2008/3/5/im-happy-without-being-perfect.html#read_more

Different Standards

Both husbands & wives are spending more time doing housework than when they were single because they're chasing higher standards. Ever notice that married households seem neater on average than single households?

Married people have to keep everything to the highest standard acceptable to both. This has lead to larger neater households than the combined previously single households. So if the wife is more particular about bathroom neatness & husband more interested in orderly desks, they are now both required to maintain the highest standards of the other. Also as we age, many of us elect to increase our standards of cleanliness. (2 year olds are less orderly than 10 year olds are less orderly than 20 year olds are less orderly than 50 year olds etc.) This is complicated by peer-pressure. As each spouse has friends & relatives over at the household standards are pressed upwards, as each spouse may interpret varying levels of disinterest, disapproval or other societal stressors, as somehow reflective of household neatness. These increased standards may be particularly difficult to maintain for new couples adjusting to eachother & perhaps discovering that their cleaning methods are not entirely compatible with or approved of by their new spouse. The learning curve of new methods, routines & standards can frustrate their efforts & cause high levels of initial stress to the new couple.

An upward trend in standards seems consistant with another recent U of MI study showing that we find spouses more demanding as we grow old with them (see: http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=6313 ). Also historically standards for health, safety & cleanliness have moved sharply upwards (Despite romantisations of the past, Victorian England & America in the Guilded Age were horribly dangerous, dirty & unhealthy places by todays standards)

But these are averages & results of such data may be sqewed towards some excessively neat individuals, the range of housework division options & longitudinal case-studies of individuals before & during marriage could be more informative. The quantity & quality of household tasks & households maintained are likely to differ by: age at marriage, expectations of spouse, timing of first birth, wife's relative monetary earnings, educational-attainment, physical health of family members, career status, precieved control over occupation, inlaw-expectations, percieved social-status, desire for children & family income. (some of these factors were considered the current study)

The recent introduction of many labor saving devices may show that wealthier couples spend less time in housework, and hopefully as these devicesdrop in price they will ease the burdens of more families.

Larger Homes / Smaller Families

I am not sure what the statistics are but I am sure that the average home size in 1976 was much smaller then it is now. Larger House = More to Clean.

Plus families were larger which may or may not generate more mess, but I get the feeling there would have been a sibling or two around to help pick up some of the slack. You know...good old fashion choirs!