Post #3: Gender Roles

In my house, my mom tends to do most of the work around the house. However, she constantly attempts to make my dad be more involved and help her out more. He's not against helping her, he just has a much lower level of motivation than her and doesn't mind a little mess. My mom, however, constantly wants the house to be clean despite how exhausted she may be. This creates a difference in opinion, and while my mom may believe that the house is a mess, my dad often does not feel the same way. Because of this, my dad does not clean up the house, which in turn frustrates my mom. Along with this, because my mom likes things done a certain way, my dad often doesn't even bother to try to help because he knows she'll end up re-doing whatever he did in "her way."

The situations described above are most likely common problems in households across America. A lack of communication can create a tense environment in which neither spouse wishes to help out the other as much as they normally would. In order to fix this, I believe that roommates and/or spouses must communicate and work out what they expect the other to do around the house. Creating a defined schedule in which each shares an equal amount of chores not only cuts the work in half for one of these individuals, but can also reduce the tension between the two.

With all of this being said, I believe that it should not be solely the woman's responsibility to do all of the house work. With our world continuously becoming more progressive, we need to end the stigma that women are responsible for doing all of the housework. More than likely the woman of the house works around the same amount of hours as the man does, therefore they both have about the same amount of free time. By working together to get the house chores done rather than expecting the woman to do everything not only relives her of her stress, but also opens up more free time for the two to spend more time together.


All in all, I believe that a healthy relationship requires communication and cooperation on both sides, By applying these to one's relationship, it not only opens up the possibility of creating a more loving environment, but also could help to end the belief that women are responsible for everything around the house by having men share these responsibilities.