Everyone knows that healthy adult relationships should be 50/50. While sometimes one party will have to pull a little more weight temporarily, the general balance should be there on a day-to-day basis, especially when it comes to household chores. Traditionally speaking, tasks like cooking and washing dishes have been seen as women’s responsibility, but men pitching in more has had an interesting effect on the women in their lives: it’s more likely to get them “in the mood.”
- The findings come courtesy of Dr. John Gottman. Research performed by Gottman at the University of Washington “Love Lab,” which first opened back in the ’80s, found that the more involved men got in domestic labor like washing dishes, cooking, vacuuming, etc., the more likely the women in their lives were to be into the idea of having sex. It doesn’t take rocket science to figure out why.
- Looking after the household is hard work. If two people live in a house together, shouldn’t both of those people be responsible for cleaning it? Having to tidy up after yourself and another full-grown adult is a one-way ticket to resentment and exhaustion, two things that are terrible for the libido. Sociologist Scott Coltrane of the University of California believes that wives may be a lot less stressed about balancing work and home when they have a little help. When you’re relaxed, sex probably sounds a whole lot better.
- Equal couples have more sex, end of story. Research cited by the Council on Contemporary Families confirmed that while men taking on more traditionally “feminine” roles used to be a turn-off, that’s certainly not the case over the past few decades. In fact, it’s the couples who share the domestic labor who are having more sex than everyone else. In situations where the woman was in charge of doing the most labor, frequency of sex went down. Womp womp.
- It’s great for the kids in the house too. The above findings were actually mentioned in conjunction with a larger study focused on the effect of dads taking part in household duties had on their kids. Coltrane and fellow University of California, Riverside sociologist Michele Adams took a look at national data and came to the conclusion that dads who did housework alongside their school-aged kids had a pronounced effect on the kids’ behavior and social skills. Those kids are less depressed, less likely to disobey teachers and other authority figures, and more likely to get along with their peers. Those are pretty impressive findings!
