Off to the Household He Should Go
In the olden times, it was customary that the women in the family would attend to all the household responsibilities that also included reproduction and raising the children. The men usually took to providing the economic support for the family and were termed the bread winners! Who made such rules and why? Obviously the men, this dictation was passed on into generations. Men considered the women to be inferior in ethics, intellect and physical strength and claimed that women could not take to support the family financially. The men followed patriarchy or the male domination and held authority over the women, children and property. They believed that the housework did not require any mental abilities and could be effortlessly done by the women. Well if this was the case, couldn’t these men do the household chores as well? No, these egoistic men think well beyond the limits to keep away from the work which actually requires the most responsibility and determination.
It was an era where people mostly belonged to joint or the extended families. Was this the reason for the biased outlook towards the men and women during those times? Probably yes. Most of the women were rather compelled to homemaking as all the males would take up employment. The amount of work in a joint family household usually went unnoticed as the chores would get equally distributed amongst all the female members. But gradually, as the concept of nuclear family set in, these same tasks became a burden on the single lady of such families. This caused the women to raise a voice in demand of equality. The revolution and industrialization bought in great deals of work prospects for the feminine class. Further exposure and equal learning opportunities made the women competent to the men in all aspects.
The current circumstances define the ideal family considering this equality of gender. Here the members of the family, the man and the woman equally contribute towards the work at home along with work for pay. What has driven the concept of a working woman? Demand for a financial security seems to be a possible reason. With the increase in rate of the working women, patriarchy has been hit. It is very simple; women provide their male counterparts with the financial stability and in return call for an emotional security. The gap between the work and the household chores has made woman work more at home with less freedom than their male counterparts. Now, is it not ethical for a woman to seek support from her male partner in household chores? It is quite unusual for a man to be regularly focused to the household chores unlike his wife. Yet, it is not unattainable. It is a well known fact that the men who involve in more housework and child care have a well balanced sex life and more contented marriages than others.
Egalitarian attitudes are vital predictors of men’s contribution in housework. Men helping out women by taking a few household responsibilities actually would be helping themselves to get financially stable. Sharing a few household activities does not really make the man inferior. It will in fact put the man in high regard in the family and society. He would be setting an example of the Perfect Man! A little helping hand from the men will make the women feel respected and cared for.
The women mostly expect help from their partners in chores like cleaning the house, bathing the kids, taking care of the laundry, cleaning the bathroom, or taking tuitions for the kids. If he shows interest in kitchen chores it would be an added advantage. Sharing works will increase the marital bonds and bring about harmony in relationships. Both the partners would be able to spend quality time with each other and the children rather the wife alone working like a servant. Most of the time wives will not ask for help and expect their husbands to pitch in to share the work.
The problem with the fathers gyrates around the various demands of fostering a family and developing a career. Is it a difficult task to keep men involved in household management? We may get an equivocal response to this question as nearly two third of the married men are involved in handling the household chores and rearing the children and concentration towards family is most important aspect in their life. There are quite a number of married men who do not provide much support to their family as they are totally professionally oriented and take their spouse for granted to complete the household work.
Some strategies that can be brought into action would be, the man and the woman must spare time to make a list of all the daily chores and distribute among each other to reduce the complete burden on the woman. If the working woman has taken a break from her work to handle the family and if she wills to rejoin the work then it is the duty of the man to support her in her housework so that the woman can get down to the basics of the professional work and upgrade her skills. A list of chores can be posted in the place where it can be seen and an action be taken to complete it. Following this list everyday will inculcate a habit of working on it. So can these basic strategies bring in the change in the situation? Yes, of course, working together, a man and a woman can make a difference in their lifestyle.
