An honest question about gender issues?

Question

Women are constantly thumping their chests and demanding that men do all the housework. And in fairness, the man should do his fair of housework.

But with that having been said, is it reasonable to expect women to do at least some "men's work?" I mean, if the man of the house is willing to vacuum the carpet or clean the bathroom, then shouldn't the woman have to learn how to do some auto work, some basic household repairs, etc.? It seems fair to me.

Answer 1

Dude, you are so niave.
#1 - women have half the money.
#2 - women have ALL the pu$$y.
Just do as you're told.

Answer 2

The guy I am with lives with me. We share the housework in anyway we can. Right now, I'm not working, so I do a little more because he is in school. If he's got homework to do, then I cannot ask him to stop that to clean a dish when I am able to do it.

But you bring up a good point, it should go both ways. The other issue is this, if a woman does a job that a guy is usually doing, the guy complains saying they are not "allowed" to do a "man's" work. I know men that say no matter what, they can still do everything that a woman can do better. It's so stupid.

Regardless though, not every MAN is out there tinkering with the car or fixing the sink either. Many simply call a repairperson, which either man or woman can do. lol

Amanda

Answer 3

In a 2 person household where the man works and the woman is the Homemaker ,in general, the man is Not expected to do any housework only do the heavy chores like mowing the lawn but see plenty of women also doing this previous man"s work. In a 2 person household where both work it is now expected that the man share in the home chores since often the woman's career is as demanding as the man's. In a household that includes children the man is expected now to share in the child rearing since often the woman also works. In the olden days before women's suffrage it was unheard of for the woman to work outside of the home and her doing all household duties and most of the child rearing while the man worked was a equal sharing but as the economy changed and to make ends meet and to attain financial security it became a necessity for the woman to work,to have her own career but in the majority was still expected to do all house duties and rear the children. Although this has become more fair in the man participating more in house duties and child rearing the woman fo the most part bears more of the work and the responsibility fo its often her who has to attend teacher conferences,nurse the child when too ill to go to school etc. and house duties and child rearing are mostly continuous responsibilities-can't quit at a certain time and were you to compare general/average free time between men and women the man would still be at a advantage. More women are also learning and doing general house repairs and its not unusual for a woman to know more than just to pump gas. The thumping of chests I find to be mostly a male dominated act and were all men to do their fair share of household and child rearing duties there would be no need to demand.

Answer 4

I always laugh when I think of families that live that way. Gender specific house chores. I think that in a family, everyone helps out with whatever they can do. There are many household repairs that I simply cannot do; such as retiling a floor, hanging a door, or moving an appliance to get behind it to clean. So of course, my husband handles those. There are also certain chores he can do, but doesn't do it with the detail that I like; so of course, I do those. But with most of our chores, it's simply a "when it needs doing, whoever has the time to do it, does it". He frequently scrubs the toilet (considering it's him that tinkles all over it), he puts the laundry away after I wash and dry it. If I cook the meal, he does the dishes. If he's home, he rolls the garbage cans out to the street, but if he's out of town I do it. Yesterday together we built a shed. Today I am taking his truck in to have it serviced.

It's a joint effort. And there isn't any specific thing he or I do every time. When he cleans the kitchen, he doesn't show detail, which usually is fine with me. But if we're having company, I do the cleaning. It's give and take. I do most of the cleaning up around here, and most of the cooking, but that's because I'm a at home mom/wife.

Answer 5

In every household there are going to be things that one partner is better at than the other. Any happy, healthy couple will agree that these differences are often what compliment each other. If you are better at working on the car, or most of the mechanical things around the house, then you should take care of those things. If your partner is better at sewing/mending the clothes,decorating or cooking then he/she should take care of those things. A relationship is give and take and in this case do this or do that. As long as everything gets done in the end, then it's all good...

Answer 6

Just wanted to add something to the already great answers. It's definitely about a balance in the relationship regardless of gender. However, I'm sure all of those household chores your woman "beats her chest about" needs to be done more frequently than all that auto work and household repairs you do.

Answer 7

My husband has no gender issues. That's one of the reasons I married him.

I remember when we were heading over a friend's one day. I had an appointment there, and he offered to walk me over. He was bringing the basket he prized, because it reminded him of one of his mother's, and he had filled it with raspberries from our garden. I was carrying my recurve bow (no case) and black leather quiver, since I was heading over there to shoot at the target in their yard. We walked arm in arm as much as we could with our burdens, until he suddenly started laughing. I was puzzled. He pointed out exactly what each of us were carrying, and how that might look to those who succumb to gender programming. I admit that it was slightly amusing...

I do not expect anyone to rescue me. I'm a capable adult. I bought my house a year before I met my husband, so I had all my tools, including my drain snake, my screwdrivers, and drills. And I know how to use them. I went to kung fu for months before I finally convinced him to join me. He usually does the dishes, and I the laundry, just because I hate the former so much and he hates the latter. Or maybe he's just letting me have it as I like it so much.

There is no 'men's work' and 'women's work'. There are tasks to be completed, and usually the best person should do them, but everyone should know how... He's a foot taller and very much stronger. I'm smaller and more wirey, with better finger control. He's a mechanical engineer, a musician, and a writer. I'm a singer, a ceramicist, and a businesswoman. We divide up domestic tasks according to abilities and inclination, and almost never bother each other with our individual work. But sometimes we do ask each other for favours to switch tasks...

I never thump my chest. That would hurt my poor, delicate, sensitive, breasts. Everyone say "Ahhhh...."

Answer 8

It seems to me, that you are making sweeping generalisation on a subject you know next to nothing about. Each couple need to find their own fair distribution of labour in a relationship. That may change during the course of that relationship.

Currently, my husband is busy doing "paying" work, I'm not, I don't expect him to so much as pick up a duster around the house. As it happens he enjoys cooking and it good at it, I hate it and am rubbish at it, so he does that. It wasn't always the case, when I was out at work and he was at home, he did the house work as well.

Answer 9

Yes, everyone should contribute an equal amount--so if a woman is capable of doing auto or household repair, she should absolutely help out. (I shouldn't be allowed to try to fix a car as I will destroy it, but I can certainly help fix the toilet if it won't stop running, etc.)

Answer 10

I agree-up to a point. As someone else already astutely pointed out, laundry,basic cleaning and dishes must be done every day. Home repairs,yard work and auto repair typically don't.

Answer 11

I totally agree...I do about 95% of the yard work along with the housework. I dont work on my vehicle, but can do small fix-it's around the house. I can't be totally dependent on him, what if some day he's gone???