Is It Fair That Women Do More Housework Than Men?

Equality is in the eye of the beholder.

I am a single man in my household, so I do ALL of it. I had a live-in who did the "housework", and I didn't like the way she did it. But like Mark Roddy said, her ability to do housework (or lack thereof) was not why I liked her living with me. But let me ask a few more questions: What is fair? Is it 50/50? Even Stevens? Quid pro quo? Tit for tat? And when you are in a relationship, how do you keep score? Should you? And why would you want to? Do you think it would be fair to trade off every week? For instance: "Honey, I'll do the dishes, the laundry, and run the kids around this week. You mow the lawn, wash the cars, and change the oil in the truck. Oh and the lawn mower is going to need to be cleaned, serviced and need the blades sharpened. The angle grinder is in the tool box on the shelf. Be sure to wear eye protection." Hmmm - sounds "fair" to me! Sound fair to you?

thats one of the big reasons i dont want to ever marry
i will not be somones maid, cook launderer or anything
i do care
i hate doing that stuff
so why the heck would i do that
i will stop any hypothetical
i wont do that
i want to be a relationship
but not one that requries housework of any kind
thats not a relationship
no wonder people say marriage is hard work
housework is work
i dont enjoy doing it
my gosh
i dont want that full time and for free
i am into sports and electronics
i cant have kids
and don like sex
bottom line
i see no need to marry
as i feel like i couldnt be myself
or be free
i have never been in a relationship and if any guys expects old fashioned
hmm
i want no part of that!!!!!!

No, its not fair but I don't look for it to change anytime soon!!

Generally I do all the cooking and most of the housework. However since I've been pregnant, my husband has been doing all that stuff.

I don't really cook. My boyfriend actually does most of the housework. It's not because I'm totally in backlash against the female doing chores, we just have different views of tidiness. He tends to want to have everything clean all the time, and I don't mind letting things marinate for a while before getting to scrubbing. So he ends up doing his dishes plus the dishes that I was planning on doing right before bed. I actually kind of feel like I'm not pulling my weight, and that bothers me because he doesn't give me the chance to.

It is completely unfair and all too common. However I have a gem of a boyfriend who does more than his share around the house. Better get to those dishes now...

None of my wives or live-ins were good cooks or house cleaners. That wasn't the reason I was interested in them!

No it is not fair. What is worse is when you are with someone who agrees to help out and after a few years, slides backwards and stops. Don't need to feel like a maid in my own home!

It's really not fair if one person is carrying more of the burden than another but don't tell my husband I said that because the the division of labor in my house is not exactly equal. My husband cooks, he does the grocery shopping, he takes out the garbage, he washes the floors, he washes the dishes, he makes sure we don't run out of stuff, he makes the lunches, he cleans the catbox, and so on and so on! I do the laundry and the beds and the less pressing stuff stuff like vacuuming, polishing, window washing, decorating, etc. Do I feel guilty? no. He likes managing the household and he's good at it. I know many women in a similar set up or at the very least dividing chores equally--I'm kind of surprised by this poll.

Unfair. I was a bachelor for a long time, and, while I am now married and split the chores with my wife, the situation for over a decade was that if I didn't do 'em they didn't get done. However, I do the cleaning when I think the cleaning needs to be done, whether it's the dishes, the bathroom, the laundry, or whatever; I do NOT do them on a time schedule. And my tolerance for dirt is higher than my wife's.

While there are men who think that marriage is partly a way to gain a housekeeper without paying directly by the week, most men will do the chores when men think they need to be done. In my experience (which is, of course, limited), the people who complain about men not doing chores want us to do them on someone's schedule other than our own. You want us to help? Fine. Most of us will be happy to do so when we think that the chore needs doing.

I think it depend on your living situation. While I have the skills and training to earn 18 an hour, I choose to be a housewife.(I do have an income from the national guard but 250 a month for a weekend of work is hardly a contribution to finances) So I think that is is perfectly fair for my husband's only chores to be taking out the trash and fixing various things around the house.

It should be balanced, and if the woman is pulling more weight with housework, the man should make up the difference with other types of tasks/chores.

True. Not fair. Is the situation going to change? Probably not (at least while I'm alive). Women are also culpable in this situation; we take on far too much responsibility and accept almost any household task that needs to be done.

Heck no - women should not do more than men around the house. The division of labor is something we rage against in my house (to my husband's advantage, for sure). The only time I wasn't responsible for cutting grass, upkeep of the yard, etc., was when I was so pregnant that it would have been embarrassing for all of us. I take out all of the trash, and haul the trashcan and recycling to the street on trash day. I pay the bills and .... wait, maybe I am doing way too much!