UW study: Men who don't do dishes have more sex
SEATTLE -- Married and want to have more sex? Then ladies, do the cooking and cleaning, and guys, mow the lawn and pay the bills.
Sounds straight out of the '50s, but it's the finding of a new University of Washington study published this month on sex and chores.
Researchers found that married couples who divvy up housework along traditional gender lines have more sex than couples who share so-called men's and women's work.
"The results show that gender still organizes quite a bit of everyday life in marriage," said co-author Julie Brines, a UW associate sociology professor.
She said the "gender identities" of a couple expressed in chores also "help structure sexual behavior."
Other studies have found that husbands who do more housework have more sex, with an implication that sex is a bargaining chip for chores, researchers said.
But UW's study, published in February's American Sociological Review, didn't focus on sex and amount of chores done, but rather type of chores done.
Couples in the study said they have sex about five times a month. When the wife did all the traditional "female" tasks - cooking, cleaning, shopping - couples had sex 1.6 times more a month than couples in which the man did all the women's work.
So should guys take this as incentive to ignore dishes and laundry? No, researchers warned.
"Men who refuse to help around the house could increase conflict in their marriage and lower their wives' marital satisfaction," said lead author Sabino Kornrich, a former UW graduate student.
Housework for couples totaled 51 hours a week, with women doing much of it more than men, the study found. Women also did more of the "men's chores" than guys did of the "women's chores." Child care wasn't included in the research.
So after doing all that housework - and the apparent uneven division of labor - women weren't too tired and grumpy for sex? Apparently, not.
"Sex and housework are still key aspects of sharing a life, and both are related to marital satisfaction and how spouses express their gender identity," researcher Brines said.
Data comes from an early '90s survey of 4,500 of straight, married couples. Gay marrieds, you're on your own here.
Sounds straight out of the '50s, but it's the finding of a new University of Washington study published this month on sex and chores.
Researchers found that married couples who divvy up housework along traditional gender lines have more sex than couples who share so-called men's and women's work.
"The results show that gender still organizes quite a bit of everyday life in marriage," said co-author Julie Brines, a UW associate sociology professor.
She said the "gender identities" of a couple expressed in chores also "help structure sexual behavior."
Other studies have found that husbands who do more housework have more sex, with an implication that sex is a bargaining chip for chores, researchers said.
But UW's study, published in February's American Sociological Review, didn't focus on sex and amount of chores done, but rather type of chores done.
Couples in the study said they have sex about five times a month. When the wife did all the traditional "female" tasks - cooking, cleaning, shopping - couples had sex 1.6 times more a month than couples in which the man did all the women's work.
So should guys take this as incentive to ignore dishes and laundry? No, researchers warned.
"Men who refuse to help around the house could increase conflict in their marriage and lower their wives' marital satisfaction," said lead author Sabino Kornrich, a former UW graduate student.
Housework for couples totaled 51 hours a week, with women doing much of it more than men, the study found. Women also did more of the "men's chores" than guys did of the "women's chores." Child care wasn't included in the research.
So after doing all that housework - and the apparent uneven division of labor - women weren't too tired and grumpy for sex? Apparently, not.
"Sex and housework are still key aspects of sharing a life, and both are related to marital satisfaction and how spouses express their gender identity," researcher Brines said.
Data comes from an early '90s survey of 4,500 of straight, married couples. Gay marrieds, you're on your own here.
It's articles like this that perpetuate the gross misunderstanding of properly interpreting statistics and knowing when you can and cannot make inferences from the numbers you see.Â
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This is exactly the kind of crap that's keeping this country way down on the educational totem pole.Â
Great!! Kids around the world are charting science graphs while our kids are charting sex graphs. **sigh!**
Note that this study talks about men who don't do traditional women's chores. Â You still don't have an excuse to drink beer and watch TV on the couch all day. Â Now get out and mow the lawn, change the oil in both of the cars and then go fix something!
I would imagine so. After all, what kind of woman would be attracted to a man who is constantly doing what she herself imagines to be "women's work," as though he were a hired maid? The psychology just doesn't work.
Is it better sex? traditional?
So this is really our higher education at work? (sigh)
Who pays for these stupid studies?
Sounds like your damned if you do and damned if you don't according to the most confusing article I've ever read.
5 times a month is a good thing? Looking back, I guess it was. Then I got married. 5 times a year was about right after that.
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Who makes this crap up?
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I hope they did't get a government grant for this BS !!!
I call BS on this article. If both partners work full time, a guy who will share the housework responsibilities and do dishes in particular is the sexiest man in the world.
 @domino Me too, if my wife had to do all the work (and maintain a full time job), she would be too tired to have any fun.
So this is what kind of research goes on at UW....who funded that little bit of solid, newsworthy, research?
@chickysgirl just because this study shattered all your stupid dreams doesn't mean it's not a legitimate study.
 @PuzzleFighter Huh??? What is that supposed to mean? I don't think I've ever dreamt or fantasized about doing dishes in exchange for sex, or even considered that something other people might do. I simply think that public funding in any way of studies like this is a waste of taxpayer money, of student tuition, and is simply absurd. How many people want to know that if you're a guy who does 'manly' things around the house, and let your wife do the 'womanly' things, that you will have more sex? Raise your hands and if enough of you do, maybe we can time-warp back to 1959. Then maybe the researchers at such a well-renowned university can do a study on whether women who wear high heels all their adult lives will end up with bunions. Sounds like a good project to me. Come on PuzzleFighter-I'm simply expressing an opinion about some flaky use of tax payer money, all in the name of good, solid research projects.Â
If I'm mowing the lawn, then I better be able to enjoy the short turf!
 @Ron Burgandy lol... oh Mr. Burgandy, where have you been? You always give me a chuckle.
@Scoondog IÂ suppose I've just been too busy trimming the hedges and laying down plumbing, and screwing and hammering away all over the house.
5 times a month? Is that the average for most couples? Wow! I think some people need to devote a little less time to hobbies, activities, TV, or whatever... and a little more time to being naked with the person they married! My husband and I have 3 young kids taking up our time and still average over 3x more sex than that every month. Sex is good for you, people! Do it. More. And for the love of all things good, stop using sex as a bargaining chip to get your spouse to do something for you. (especially you, ladies!) In the 8 years we've been married I have said "no" to my husband ONCE. And it was because I was legitimately sick and he didn't realize it. One time! There's nothing you can't take a 10 minute break from (or lets be honest, 2 minutes if you're really in a hurry) to satisfy your husband. Â Sheesh!Â
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As far as chores go, my husband works outside the home, does repairs to the home and vehicles, mows, prunes... "man stuff". I get to stay home all day with my kids, homeschool, clean, cook, do laundry, run errands. Seems fair to me.Â
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 @LunchWithABear Wooooow...it's so great to hear you have it all figured out! If only everyone dropped everything and had more sex with their partner, they'd have the perfect, wonderful marriage that you have...it's sooooo simple!
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Now get over yourself. 'Sheesh!'
@Quasinator @LunchWithABear sounds like someone needs to be having a little more sex.......
 @LunchWithABear I agree. I just gave birth and I HAVE to tell my husband no to sex. I still got another 3 weeks left. It's killing us both, we've become antsy and more irritable lately. There is a noticeable difference in our relationship when we have sex regularly. I think it's true for everyone.Â
 @Shelby DeZarn Yeah, that postpartum break can feel like an eternity. (though, to be honest, I've never made it the full 6 weeks.)  And fortunately for my husband, that waiting period doesn't apply to "everything".
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Another article I read on this same study stated, "For couples in which men did no 'core' housework, sexual frequency was 4.8 times per month," says Kornrich. "For couples in which men did all of the 'core' housework, sexual frequency was 3.2 times per month."Â
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4.8 and 3.2? Seems crazy to me. I suppose if neither couple wants sex more frequently, that's one thing (though, I'm still not convinced it's healthy)... but I imagine in most of those cases one person in the relationship isn't getting as much as they'd like. Unfortunately, that can cause a lot of problems in a marriage.Â
@LunchWithABear you basically validated this study. thank you for being a wonderful women.
 @LunchWithABear We need more women like you in this world!... do you have a twin sister?
 @Scoondog No twin. I do have sisters, and while both of them are currently unattached (aka divorced), neither share my views on relationships or sex. Sorry.Â
I wonder how many thousands of dollars were granted to the "researchers" who deemed such findings would lead to an improvement in society. Academic research is a gimmick, I once read the results of a $40,000 study where more insects were found in twenty inch tall alfalfa than in six inch tall alfalfa. I was incredibly enlightened by what most anyone would have assumed to be true w/o wasting money or time finding out. When in College I quickly caught on to the gimmick and would write all my research results without doing the study and find the proof to back it up. Given enough time I probably could prove I am from Mars. Anyway, such a gimmick allowed me to "earn" both a BS and MS in Water Resource Management in just four years with a near four point and I was paid most of the way through. So like television news much research is just a production to line the pockets of academia researchers with extra and easy earned cash and pave the road to being tenured. Cool, huh!
 @growlerxrunner So you are saying you lied and cheated?
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It doesn't sound like academic research is the problem to me....
 @growlerxrunner Nah.  You're full of it, sorry bud.  Most of what you just wrote proves you have no real experience with academic research.
 @AesopsTables  @growlerxrunner Sorry to disappoint you and turn the tables on you Mr. Tables, I spent four years getting both degrees, was paid to do so, did research for Argonne National Labs near Chicago while getting my MS to the tune of $16 per hour for eight hours a day for six months, worked only about an hour a day because of developing programs to do the work and developed advanced database systems for water resource management after the fact. Every paper I wrote was out from my head and I simply found the proof as needed. So don't lecture me, bud.
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 @growlerxrunner  @AesopsTables Fantastic, so you are claiming to have published peer reviewed papers then (because if you didn't, then you actually don't have any academic research experience.  You were a lab assistant)?  Just go ahead and link them here then.  You don't even have to say which author you were.  Although...if you actually DID any academic research then you would know that I could tell exactly which author you were based upon where you were listed on the paper...
THats a bunch of crap.
I just want to know who they studied. I found this super funny. I do all the "women" chores (except most of the cooking, yes, my husband cooks) but I also do the finances all the kid stuff and yes, work full time. My husband thinks he should get off the hook for taking out the garbage since he does cook dinners most of the time. He forgets, I make all the lunches and half the breakfasts. He'd get more sex if I had more time!
Make up your mind-
http://todayhealth.today.com/_news/2013/01/30/16758810-husbands-who-do-her-chores-have-less-sex-study-finds?lite
Sounds as if the real advice is 'be organized' what ever decision a couple makes around how to split the chores. Why is bargining chip and sex even in the same sentence. In a healthy relationship one shouldn't have to bargin for sex.
Not in my house. Nothing sexier than my husband doing the dishes so I don't have to! I'm wondering if these "researchers" had an ulterior motive with this study..... hmmm....
@The WA Mama But man can't say "nothing sexier than a women making me a sandwich". what a load of crap.
 @PuzzleFighter You sound angry to me. Can you suggest a research project that might help people in your situation? Maybe UW can do one which proves your point.
@PuzzleFighter You CAN say it......not advisable, but you can say it. lol.
Just did the dishes. Big mistake.
@Komo Dragon That is a perfect excuse to now make a huge plate of nachos, leave the mess everywhere, and then devour them because all the hard man-work you've done for the day.
 @Komo Dragon none for you tonite!
Lets see - How about I don't F'ing think so.
This is definitely not true in my house.Â
do these women hold full time jobs? Or stay at home wife?
51 hours of weekly chores and sex only 5 times a month, I feel sorry for these people.
 @oledawg Yeah the sex per hour ratio doesn't seem worth it.  If you were to put those 51 hours into another job you could afford the company of an escort more than 5 times a month and you could get some variety.
 @APenny4MyThoughts And she goes away when you are done with her!
'see hun...and when i sit on the couch all day, that ummm helps me to make more money...'
I hope they didn't pay thousands for this study. There are many factor that figure into this senerio and it isn't worth the room it takes up on a computer or on a piece of paper to even publish.