Question

How are household chores (cooking, cleaning, laundry, child care, auto maintenance, yard work, home repair, etc.) divided up along gender lines in your current residence? How were chores divided up in the home where you grew up? Is the time spent each week on the total about evenly divided or skewed one way or the other?

Answer 1

In my residence, there are no stereotypical gender roles because my parents are strong advocates of gender equality. Although my father is a working professional and my mother is a homemaker, they are never confined to their roles. I grew up seeing my father perform chores like cooking and cleaning when he had the time. My father and my mother would cook together on weekends, and he would even help her do laundry if and when required. Chores were not divided as such, but my mother did what she could and my father contributed what he could. I believe a man and a woman should cooperate with each other and not compete with each other. My father is a strong man with a charismatic personality, yet he would never shy away from pressing her feet when she is tired or holding her purse when her hands are busy while shopping. Such acts do not make a man any less of a man; it shows that they are confident and comfortable with who they are. I think men these days are so engaged in displaying their machismo that they forget “being is man is not all about building muscles and riding bikes, but it’s about treating their women with the love and respect they deserve.”