1996
Vote!
In 1972 Judy Syfers wrote an essay for Ms. Magazine called "I Want a Wife." It appears that little has changed - according to this article from the New York Times, working moms want someone to help with housework, childcare, and all the to-dos that go into keeping a family and household running. They want a wife.
Here's both a startling and not-so-surprising statistic from the article:
According to 2006 survey data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in five men engages in some kind of housework on an average day, while more than half of women do.
And while many husbands do help around the house and take part in major household decisions, few of us can deny that most of the burden is on our shoulders.
Do you agree? Is this different in your family? Sound off with your reactions!
6 comments so far...
Flag as inappropriate Posted by Daisy on 20th January 2008
The funny thing is, because my mother was a feminist and refused to be a housewife, I was never taught to clean my room. It was an uproarious mess, a legend in our city ("Is it true your parents don't make you clean up your room?") (in my defense, it was messy but not 'dirty'). I took a lot of ribbing because of it-- but I grew up to live in a place where cleaning personnel come with the marriage-- so ha ha ha.
As for the micro -level, my husband takes out the garbage, arranges all household events involving decor (he's an architect), does most of the fruit and vegetable shopping, picks up after himself, has always been involved in child care very closely, and pays the bigger bills. I try to keep after myself and our daughter to be tidy, arrange dinner, throw in a load of two of laundry, look after the cat and the horse, and take care of the physical needs of our daughter (although they do like to go sock shopping together. For some reason they both go through socks at an alarming rate and I just let them take care of that together.)
My husband cooks on his day off, and recently has begun making excellent smoothies. He thinks that men should be independent and wants to live that way. (Here in Turkey it is not uncommon for men to ask their wives to go get them a glass of water-- though not in his family).
Our part-time wife takes care of the big stuff.
Flag as inappropriate Posted by KatieK on 20th August 2007
Flag as inappropriate Posted by Victoria on 16th August 2007
I think this is largely a matter of perception. At the end of a Saturday, my husband can see the nicely cut lawn and the freshly washed cars in the driveway. He feels like he's done his part. He can also see the freshly folded laundry that I've finished and the cupboard full of groceries I purchased. He sees that I've done work too. In his mind, we're even. But he can't "see" the bills I paid, the papers I filed, the phone call I made to RSVP to a party, and the letters I mailed. The reality for us is that by me taking responsibility for all the "invisible" tasks, I end up doing much more around the house than he does. Does he purposely avoid doing work around the house? No, but he perceives a lot less work than there actually is to keep our household running.
Flag as inappropriate Posted by Mary Koch on 16th August 2007
Flag as inappropriate Posted by boysmommy on 15th August 2007
Flag as inappropriate Posted by Daisy on 15th August 2007