Married Men Really DO Slack Off
Remember when I marveled at the way a man’s wedding ring can turn him from an attentive, helpful guy to a slacker, sloppy spouse?
I wasn’t kidding.
Now, thanks to Rammer, I also have the statistics to prove it.
[S]cientists analyzed surveys gathered in 2002 from 28 nations, from 17,636 respondents (8,119 males and 9,517 females) as part of the Family and Changing Gender Roles III Survey. All respondents were either married or cohabiting with a significant other.
Overall, they found men spent about 9 hours a week on housework compared with women, who spent more than 20 hours weekly.[...]
Regardless of the couples’ relative earnings or work hours, cohabiting males reported more household hours than did their married counterparts, while the opposite was true for women, with wives picking up the broom more often than live-in girlfriends.
The scientists attribute this change to the “traditionalizing” effects of marriage, which is to say that, while shacking up, both sexes feel responsible for helping out with household chores. Once married, though, both genders seem to view housework as primarily the wife’s responsibility. So, the reasoning goes, husbands slack off from the efforts they’d previously made while wives wonder what the hell happened.
But does bringing up the subject help remedy the imbalance? Oh hell no.
So, as for why women gain weight after that wedding ring slips onto their fingers? Chances are it’s because they’ve since realized they already picked up 180ish pounds of dead weight, so what’s another 40 going to matter?
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Since I work from home, it’s no big deal to do the laundry and the cooking. Of course I have children for the really hard chores like sweeping, dusting, window washing, lawn mowing…
It’s great to be trend buster!
Jeff’s last blog post..Abuse of Law and Smoke
See, I knew I should’ve had more children.
At least now I have a viable excuse to explain the extra weight!! *L*
Michele’s last blog post..Johnny A
That’s the best line of my day!
:o)
Joan of Argghh!’s last blog post..Charlton Heston, Free At Last
my dad was quite old fashioned when it came to division of labor in the home. i was not allowed to do dishes because “boys don’t do dishes.” i think i’m beginning to overcome this genetic imprinting. probably have a long way to go, but i try to help out as much as i can, although i still feel strange doing laundry. like my dad’s disapproving ghost is looking over my shoulder.
metal dad’s last blog post..Friday’s Good News
You’d probably take offense if I expressed a desire to slap your dad, huh?
I won’t go against the grain of the statistics, but I’ll put money on the fact that dealing with the car, the lawn, ane garage and external house repair would not fall under “household hours”
I know that in my experiance every time I would get started on a project “painting, change oil, mow lawn, etc, etc” I would get about 20 min before I would get a tap on the shoulder or a kick on my foot with the words “can you take a break and help me with the….(fill in the blank here) It never failed in 20 years.
Then, of course, after getting several things started at her request I was never allowed to actually finish, so then came the complaints about “never getting anything done”
My question for all who read this: Is this “normal” behavior or did I marry a nut-case?
Perfectly normal…
Jeff’s last blog post..Random Musings
My question for all who read this: Is this “normal” behavior or did I marry a nut-case?
Those aren’t mutually exclusive.
wg’s last blog post..Muah ha ha ha haaaa
What they said.
I thought most women were satisfied with 3-13 minutes of housework.
I am so easily, conveniently confused by the conflicting studies.
Brian J.’s last blog post..Thank God He’s Not A Country Boy
3 to 13 minutes of housework 7 days a week.
Can I count getting out of bed as “bedmaking preparation”?
Brian J.’s last blog post..Holding a Line
That might be stretching it. I do recall reading that making the bed right away after getting out of it increases the number of dust mites (which breed in the damp warmth).
So maybe NOT making it could be counted as “allergen and dust inhibition”.
7 days a week sounds good, but it is really for just 2 weeks a month. Is the other half of the month Spitzer time?
I’m with Neal and Instapundit in that I’ll guess that the duties for which I am solely responsible (mowing, weeding, plumbing, carpentry, wiring, computer repair) were not counted in the household chore hours. So I guess that the 12 hours of backbreaking work I do on weekends, coupled with the few hours I squeeze in after work every day, don’t qualify because I wasn’t wielding a feather duster or a vacuum? Uhh, I’ll pass on that study, thanks.
physics geek’s last blog post..The chicken bone defense
I don’t get it, my wife and I are both too busy drinking to do household chores or outdoor type work. Don’t you people believe in domestic help?
Go ahead, let yourself go and hire someone to do the crap that you don’t want to do. I learned at a young age that it’s always better to hire a professional, as it ends up costing less in the long run… So we work our jobs, and they cook and clean, see how wonderfully that works? LOL
The Mayor… (No need to bow, but go ahead if you feel the need.)
ps. Hey Venomous Kate, nice blog, you sound like fun, lets play…. word games!
Mayor of Idiot Town’s last blog post..There Are Smart People In This World!
*snorrrrt*
I guess I just got lucky. My hubby does clean house AND he will do the chores I hate, like swabbing the toilet (HEY, I never miss peeing in the toilet why should I have to mop it up?) and dusting the blinds.
Yeah, I’m spoilt. ROTTEN, in fact.
Margi’s last blog post..I <3 The Dropkick Murphys