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Kathy
Thompson of Albany, Indiana made national and international news
with her "housework strike" against her husband Gary earlier
this month. Since Gary reportedly works six or seven days a week
and also claims to "cook quite a bit," it's unclear how valid
Kathy's complaint is. What is clear, however, is that studies
have repeatedly shown that, when one considers both the work
done on the job and the work done in the home, American husbands
contribute as much work to their households as their wives do.
According to a survey released earlier this year by the
University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR), the
world's largest academic survey and research organization, women
do an average of 11 more hours of housework per week than men.
Compensating for this, however, is the study's less-publicized
finding that the average man spends 14 hours a week more on the
job than the average woman. In fact, studies conducted by the
ISR and others have found that rough equality between the
workloads shouldered by men and women has existed for at least
four decades.
The origin of the lazy husband myth lies in part in UC Berkeley
professor Arlie Hochschild's best-selling 1989 book The Second
Shift, in which she claimed that "women work an extra month of
24 hour days each year." Just as the media has rushed to
publicize Thompson's housework "strike," Hochschild's factoid
was repeated uncritically (and unmercifully) by major media.
Yet Hochschild's conclusions were deeply flawed. As gender
issues author Warren Farrell notes, Hochschild unfairly compared
the housework burdens of full-time employed males with those of
part-time employed females. In addition, while she claimed to be
writing about contemporary society, she used data on male
housework from studies done in the pre-feminist era, before most
women worked outside of the home. Also, she defined "housework"
to include chores usually done by women, ignoring many of the
household tasks generally done by men.
Echoing Hochschild, Gloria Steinem says that in today's economy,
because both couples work, men have one job and women have two.
However, the average full-time employed man works eight hours a
week more than the average full-time employed woman, women are
four times as likely as men to work part-time, and women are
much more likely than men to be full-time homemakers. It is only
natural that housework burdens reflect men's and women's unequal
employment contributions.
In addition, both the ISR survey and The Second Shift count only
hours worked, without noting the special contributions of men
who do dangerous and physically demanding work. The workforces
employed in what US Department of Labor lists as the nation's 25
most dangerous jobs are all at least 90% male. While housework
may seem like drudgery compared to middle-class, white collar
jobs, it certainly doesn't when compared to most blue collar
work.
Also, while homemaking can be dull, it comes with several
advantages. For one, people are usually much happier at home and
in casual dress (and perhaps talking on the phone or watching TV
while they work), than they are in a supervised and regimented
work environment. Homemakers also benefit from a flexible
schedule. Most importantly, being at home usually means being
able to spend time with one's children.
Men like Gary Thompson are victims of a doublebind. If they are
talented cooks or doting caretakers of children but are unable
to provide for their families, they are not respected as
husbands or as men. Yet when they work long hours to fulfill
the principal breadwinner role that they are still expected to
perform, they are blamed for not contributing enough at
home.
Ken, a project manager for a San Diego-based computer
company, believes that the contributions of male breadwinners
like himself are unfairly ignored. He says:
"The weight of supporting our family falls on my shoulders. I
work 10 or 12 hour days, so of course I don't do as much
housework as my wife does. But she benefits greatly from having
time with the kids while they're young, whereas I struggle every
day just to get home in time to read them a bedtime story. The
time I've missed with my children is something I'll never get
back. Maybe I'm the one who should go on strike."
This column first appeared in the
Gary Post-Tribune (11/8/02).
Glenn Sacks is a men's and fathers' issues columnist and
radio talk show host. His columns have appeared in dozens of
America's largest newspapers. His radio show,
His Side with
Glenn Sacks, can be heard every Sunday in Los Angeles and
Seattle.
Glenn can be reached via his website, at
www.GlennSacks.com or
by e-mail at
Glenn@GlennSacks.com.
Dianna Thompson
is the director of public policy of the
National Family
Justice Association.
She can be contacted by e-mail at
DThompson2232@aol.com.
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