That is the title of a story I found in Reuters News over the weekend. After further review, it is actually a new reality show that has debuted in Canada this month. The premise of the show involves most of the women in the Canadian town of Hardisty being asked to leave their men and families behind for one week and to see how the men handle the traditional female roles of housekeeping and childcare. Presented by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, it is being hailed as a “social experiment” because in Canada, 70% of households are run by women.
Hardisty was chosen because ” the producers searched for the perfect beaker to test theories on division of labor and gender roles at home and in the workplace.”
When I first read this, I felt the same nauseating feeling I get when I run across the typical “men vs. women vs. housework” rhetoric. It is apparent to me that society, whether here in the U.S. or elsewhere, is always trying to undermine men’s contribution to family management, and at the same time trying to establish a belief that men cannot handle traditional “women’s work”. It appears society believes men will just fall apart under the umbrella of traditional female responsibilities, and grovel at the feet of their significant other upon her return, begging for mercy for their errant, traditional, ignorant ways, and proceed to wallow in a sea of appreciation and recognition for what she contributes to the family. This is what the female ego would like to see happen, but unfortunately, reality creeps in, and robs the female ego of its desire.
I’ve written about men and housework before. Research shows men do more housework than women give them credit for. So when I see a show like this, it irritates me to see that real family management indolence is always placed on the wrong person.
Society has the belief that men disparage and avoid traditional female work around the house, but some of the most recent research shows that it is women that actually disparage and downplay men’s contribution towards family management. Recent research also shows women today engage in less than half of the housework of their mother’s generation while men are doing more than double of their fathers. It should be noted that women do more housework and childcare than men overall, but what should be noted – to counter women’s and societies sexist nature to scold men for what they perceive as masculine laziness – that according to a study done by University of Michigan Institute for Social Research:
From 1989 to 1999, the questionnaire recall data indicate that paid work in the labor market increased by 10% for men and 17% for women, reflecting the decade’s strong job market and the increasing labor market participation of females. As a result, total work time for men increased by eight percent over that decade, but, given the drop in housework time for women, their total work time rose by a mere two percent.
So you see men are not lazy, as is the reason most women – and society – give to explain the difference. The truth is men work more outside the home leaving them less time for family management.
This is why I become irritated when I see programs such as this. It is labeled a reality show, but its premise is really based in mythology. Both men and women work hard at family management these days with men assuming a large portion of traditional female work around the house while women continue to do very little traditional male labor around the house.
But here is where the story gets really interesting. As I read this story, I recognized it to be very similar to a show that took place in England a few years ago. As I continued reading, I found out I was right, and that the people who were responsible for the show in England, are the same people involved in this one.
I remember reading about the results from the show in England. I remember the men did fine without their wives. Sure, it was hard at first, just like anything new, but once the men got their routines down, they did just as well as the women in traditional female roles. But as I read the article about this show in Canada, there was no mention about the results in England. That seemed odd to me, to mention the previous show in England, but not the results. So I began a search for the results from the BBC’s version of “The Week the Women Went”. I found the results nearly impossible to find. Numerous websites were mentioning Canada’s show and its relationship to the BBC show, but not one website offered the results from that first experiment.
Well it took some time, but I found the results. I was right. The men did well. Said one wife, ‘The house is very tidy – he’s done very well. I definitely married the right man. Being away you realize that every minute you’re with them is important.’
And many of the men managed so well, they had time to bake “welcome home” cakes for their wives return.
So now I began to ask why everyone was avoiding the results. My conclusion is because the results did not confirm women’s and society’s beliefs about men and housework. The men did not fall apart, humiliate, and embarrass themselves. They survived traditional women’s work without much despair; therefore, in today’s climate of men and father bashing, the show failed and was forgotten.
In order to “fix” that problem, the producers decided to move the show to Hardisty, a town where most men work away from their families for weeks at a time. The potential for these men to fail at traditional women’s work is now much greater than the show in England, because these men are rarely home, so they barely know the details of a normal day.
I wouldn’t call this a social “experiment” because the results can already be envisioned. This is no experiment. It is simply taking a person from a well known task and putting them into an unknown one. Of course it is going to be difficult, but that doesn’t mean those individuals are of bad character. But I know if these men fail, the judgments placed upon them will be – lazy, sexist, ignorant men.
My point: The whole idea that women are overworked more than men is more myth than reality. Both men and women are stressed when it comes to family management. Yet the media and society always gives more compassion to the stresses women face. Men’s stressors and anxieties are brushed aside in order to make more room for women’s. I have yet to see a show where the women are put into the shoes of men. This show would have the women repair the roof, insulate the attic, put in a new hot water heater, build a deck or patio in the yard, have sole responsibility as bread winner of the family, and find everything she does disparaged by her husband and society.
I guess it is just wishful thinking. After all, we know our “equals” wouldn’t stand for it.
Men and Housework – No Problem!?!?
Tags: commentary, community, culture, current events, family, feminism, government, human rights, life, marriage, media, men, people, rants, relationships, research, sex, society, thoughts, women
That is the title of a story I found in Reuters News over the weekend. After further review, it is actually a new reality show that has debuted in Canada this month. The premise of the show involves most of the women in the Canadian town of Hardisty being asked to leave their men and families behind for one week and to see how the men handle the traditional female roles of housekeeping and childcare. Presented by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, it is being hailed as a “social experiment” because in Canada, 70% of households are run by women.
Hardisty was chosen because ” the producers searched for the perfect beaker to test theories on division of labor and gender roles at home and in the workplace.”
When I first read this, I felt the same nauseating feeling I get when I run across the typical “men vs. women vs. housework” rhetoric. It is apparent to me that society, whether here in the U.S. or elsewhere, is always trying to undermine men’s contribution to family management, and at the same time trying to establish a belief that men cannot handle traditional “women’s work”. It appears society believes men will just fall apart under the umbrella of traditional female responsibilities, and grovel at the feet of their significant other upon her return, begging for mercy for their errant, traditional, ignorant ways, and proceed to wallow in a sea of appreciation and recognition for what she contributes to the family. This is what the female ego would like to see happen, but unfortunately, reality creeps in, and robs the female ego of its desire.
I’ve written about men and housework before. Research shows men do more housework than women give them credit for. So when I see a show like this, it irritates me to see that real family management indolence is always placed on the wrong person.
Society has the belief that men disparage and avoid traditional female work around the house, but some of the most recent research shows that it is women that actually disparage and downplay men’s contribution towards family management. Recent research also shows women today engage in less than half of the housework of their mother’s generation while men are doing more than double of their fathers. It should be noted that women do more housework and childcare than men overall, but what should be noted – to counter women’s and societies sexist nature to scold men for what they perceive as masculine laziness – that according to a study done by University of Michigan Institute for Social Research:
From 1989 to 1999, the questionnaire recall data indicate that paid work in the labor market increased by 10% for men and 17% for women, reflecting the decade’s strong job market and the increasing labor market participation of females. As a result, total work time for men increased by eight percent over that decade, but, given the drop in housework time for women, their total work time rose by a mere two percent.
So you see men are not lazy, as is the reason most women – and society – give to explain the difference. The truth is men work more outside the home leaving them less time for family management.
This is why I become irritated when I see programs such as this. It is labeled a reality show, but its premise is really based in mythology. Both men and women work hard at family management these days with men assuming a large portion of traditional female work around the house while women continue to do very little traditional male labor around the house.
But here is where the story gets really interesting. As I read this story, I recognized it to be very similar to a show that took place in England a few years ago. As I continued reading, I found out I was right, and that the people who were responsible for the show in England, are the same people involved in this one.
I remember reading about the results from the show in England. I remember the men did fine without their wives. Sure, it was hard at first, just like anything new, but once the men got their routines down, they did just as well as the women in traditional female roles. But as I read the article about this show in Canada, there was no mention about the results in England. That seemed odd to me, to mention the previous show in England, but not the results. So I began a search for the results from the BBC’s version of “The Week the Women Went”. I found the results nearly impossible to find. Numerous websites were mentioning Canada’s show and its relationship to the BBC show, but not one website offered the results from that first experiment.
Well it took some time, but I found the results. I was right. The men did well. Said one wife,
‘The house is very tidy – he’s done very well. I definitely married the right man. Being away you realize that every minute you’re with them is important.’
And many of the men managed so well, they had time to bake “welcome home” cakes for their wives return.
So now I began to ask why everyone was avoiding the results. My conclusion is because the results did not confirm women’s and society’s beliefs about men and housework. The men did not fall apart, humiliate, and embarrass themselves. They survived traditional women’s work without much despair; therefore, in today’s climate of men and father bashing, the show failed and was forgotten.
In order to “fix” that problem, the producers decided to move the show to Hardisty, a town where most men work away from their families for weeks at a time. The potential for these men to fail at traditional women’s work is now much greater than the show in England, because these men are rarely home, so they barely know the details of a normal day.
I wouldn’t call this a social “experiment” because the results can already be envisioned. This is no experiment. It is simply taking a person from a well known task and putting them into an unknown one. Of course it is going to be difficult, but that doesn’t mean those individuals are of bad character. But I know if these men fail, the judgments placed upon them will be – lazy, sexist, ignorant men.
My point: The whole idea that women are overworked more than men is more myth than reality. Both men and women are stressed when it comes to family management. Yet the media and society always gives more compassion to the stresses women face. Men’s stressors and anxieties are brushed aside in order to make more room for women’s. I have yet to see a show where the women are put into the shoes of men. This show would have the women repair the roof, insulate the attic, put in a new hot water heater, build a deck or patio in the yard, have sole responsibility as bread winner of the family, and find everything she does disparaged by her husband and society.
I guess it is just wishful thinking. After all, we know our “equals” wouldn’t stand for it.
Women leave Canadian town in hands of men
How did the men of Harby cope when their women left?
BBC’s Bring your Husband to Heel or “Arbeit Macht Frei”
Men Do More Housework Than Women Think
Contact:
soltys.joe@gmail.com