Women Running The World, And The Men Who Want To Stay With Them

Every good king has his castle and someone or multiple someone's must tend to it daily in order for it to function. Then comes the question, who is going to do the dirty work? The basic assumption is that wives will perform these trivial household duties with no pay for their husbands. Now that more and more women are going out and earning their own wages, one would think that the men would start to hold the same responsibilities as women concerning the household chores, but this has proven not to be the case. Women put in a second shift after work to keep up at home, while men may "help" a little around the house. The burden is still primarily left in the women's hands. This is less true for lesbian couples who have a different distribution of power and chores that has a basic respect or understanding toward equal sharing. As more women are working, less are doing housework and men are doing a little more. Marriage and having babies increases housework for women. Distribution of household labor also varies according to race and ethnicity.

What affect does this have on couples? Men see themselves as entitled to household services and this feeling tends to spread throughout the couple, giving the wife a feeling that she should comply because he deserves it as a man. This invisible power allows him to pull the wool over his wife's eyes and lead her to believe there is fairness, when there really isn't. The inequality causes marital friction. Marital happiness can be seen in terms of fairness. On the whole, women feel that the division of housework is unfair to women and men tend to feel that they are satisfied with the way things are. If the wife is satisfied with her husband's contribution, then there will probably be a more united marriage. The level of satisfaction with his contribution is mainly affected by economic influences. If hubby brings home a big paycheck, the little wife will be less likely to want more of a contribution to the housework than if he came home from the McDonalds and sat down on the couch. Marital happiness does not just include sharing responsibilities in the household.

Marital happiness is a hard aspect to measure. Class, education, social power, and income affect this marital satisfaction. Couples are happier when they have things in common, including hobbies, class, race/ethnicity, and religion. Married couples work best if they have similar interests and activities. Economic security is huge in talking about marital happiness. The more stable the financial situation is, the more stable the marriage. If the couple is pleased with the sexual conditions, they are a happier couple. Having healthy and happy children is very important, almost as important as love and affection within the couple. Couples tend to be happier at the beginning of their marriage and then they have children. Children tend to put a stress on the marriage with an addition of responsibilities, economically and emotionally. The strain wears away at a marriage until a major low point in the children's later teenage years, right before they move out. Teenagers are more demanding on mothers to conform into rigid gender roles and be that good mom. This could be particularly stressing on dual earner relationships and puts an inhibitor on the power and independence of the mother. The happiness within the couple begins to return after the kids have left the home. Higher up in the social classes, there is less marital friction due to a more successful economic position. This places less stress on the couple and a sense of satisfaction from the wife, as more freedom is attained. Lower down in the classes there is more marital stress due to the lack of finances.

Inequality is a major source of marital tension, mostly for wives. Today, dual-earner couples are not only necessary economically, but seem to be the way to go with marital happiness. Wives feel like there is a more equal distribution of family duties and the power is more equal. If both partners agree that this is the way to go, then it would be a good option. Equality within the marriage lessens women's dependency on their male counterpart and gives her options outside of the marriage that contributed to her emotional health and the overall happiness for the couple.

My idea of the idea marriage is one with an equal partnership concerning work and home. There should be a considerable amount of emotional support on both ends. I believe similarities are so important. I get along better with people that I have things in common with, where they got that opposites attract, I don't know. I could see an external advantage, where socially one partner's weaknesses could be compensated for, but internally there would be conflicts. There has to be a consensus on how to raise the children and similar goals in life. Most importantly, there has to be a compatibility, which allows a couple to get along. If the power in unequal and individuals are devalued, there will be friction and it won't be pretty. Women have been running the world and now that they are coming out of the home, men need to start working with the team , instead of leading a separate life.

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