Does Housework affect our Relationships?

What makes a lasting relationship work? Is it Love? Empathy? Teamwork? All are correct, and all are involved in household chores. Routine cleaning tasks are never compared to taking your loved one on a romantic getaway.  However how we share them in a relationship shows a way that we show compassion and camaraderie towards one another.

My grandparents just recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.  This is a milestone very few couples ever have the chance to celebrate. Observing the way they treat each other I know a part of their successful relationship is their willingness to sacrifice for one another. 

The drudgery of household cleaning is commonplace in any family and in most cases is unbalanced between men and women. In Stephen Marche’s article “The Case for Filth” in The New York Times, he says,” Women today make up 40 percent of America’s sole or primary breadwinners for families with children under 18, a share that has quadrupled since 1960. And yet in America as well as in several other countries in the developed world, men’s time investment in housework has not significantly altered in nearly 30 years” (2013).

In contrast to housework, tasks such as cooking and child rearing (both until recently have been considered a woman’s job) have become distinctively tied to “manliness”.  We see men taking on more responsibility in family dynamics. Father’s rights are respected and valued. Men who can cook are admired and appreciated. Attitudes toward housework have not experienced the same evolution.

There is no agreed upon definition of housework either. The concept has been debated for decades, and trying to place a label on chores can get extremely complicated. The question of "what do people consider to be a chore?” can vary depending on nationality, religion, and especially gender. Marche’s article goes deep to depict the current situation for housework and how our roles as male, female, loved one, child, or parent have always been convoluted. To read the whole article, visit The Case of Clean