Husbands who do housework may have less sex, study says
Kim Painter, Special for USA TODAY4:34p.m. EST January 31, 2013
Traditional chores are linked with more sex for married couples.
Men who do some household chores may not get rewarded with more sex,
according to a new study. (Photo: Pixland)
Story Highlights
Couples who stick to traditional chores have more sex
Study was conducted in 1992-1994, so some things may have changed
Other studies show wives more satisfied in more equal marriages
Husbands who do a lot of cooking, cleaning, laundry and other traditionally
female forms of housework may do their marriages some good -- but, contrary
to popular belief, they are not rewarded with more sex, a new study finds.
Instead, it's the guys who do the most lawn work, car repair, driving and
bill-paying – traditional men's jobs – who have the most sex in marriage,
the study suggests. The same is true for women who do the most traditional
female housework, according to the study published in the February issue of
American Sociological Review.
For better or worse, the authors say, heterosexual married couples may still
be reading from traditional "sexual scripts" when it comes to both
housework and sex.
In other words, the study concludes: "Men or women may, in essence, be
turned on (however indirectly) when partners in a marriage do more gender-
traditional work."
The study comes with one major caveat: It is based on data collected two
decades ago. While the researchers say little has likely changed since then,
some other experts disagree.
The researchers, from the Juan March Institute in Spain and the University
of Washington in Seattle, looked at data collected on about 4,500
heterosexual married U.S. couples participating in the National Survey of
Families and Households between 1992 and 1994. The couples reported having
sex an average of five times a month.
Couples in which women did all of the traditional female chores had sex 1.6
times more each month than couples in which men did all of those jobs. The
more cooking and cleaning a husband did, the less sex the couple had; women'
s cooking and cleaning was linked with more sex. Couples in which men did
more traditional male chores also had more sex; it did not seem to matter if
women did more or less of those chores.
The findings were not linked to male or female earnings or to religious
beliefs.
But before the nation's husbands throw out their dishcloths, they might want
to consider this: The study does not say more traditional couples are more
satisfied with their sex lives or their marriages. The researchers cite
other studies showing that "when men do more housework, wives' perceptions
of fairness and marital satisfaction tend to rise." Couples with more equal
divisions of labor also are less likely to divorce, research shows.
"Some women may find a guy more sexy when he's fixing something around the
house than when he's doing the ironing," says Stephanie Coontz, director of
research and public education for the Council on Contemporary Families. "I'm
not surprised that there are many women and men who still find the old ways
more sexy. But there also are couples who now find egalitarian
relationships more sexy and a better prescription for long-term happiness in
marriage."
A survey conducted today likely would find more couples in the latter
category, says Coontz, who teaches history and family studies at Evergreen
State College in Olympia, Wash.
Also worth noting: The study did not include childcare -- so it says nothing
about whether men who change diapers have more or less sex.
