The Labor of Sisyphus? Women's and Men's Reactions to Housework

Objective. Considerable attention has been given to the division of household labor in male-female couple households and to assessments of its equity. While women's experience of housework has been characterized as either tedious and thankless or a more positive expression of love and care, there is very limited empirical evidence about how women (or men) actually experience the work. We assess these reactions and investigate how they are influenced by women's and men's household and paid work contexts and the content of the housework performed. Methods. This research uses data from married and cohabiting men and women respondents to the 1987-88 wave of the National Survey of Families and Households. Results. While women's reactions to housework are slightly less positive than men's, both are similar and are more positive than negative. There is also similarity across gender in the factors explaining these attitudes. Conclusions. The unpleasantness of housework (especially for women) may be less a reflection of the qualities of the work itself than of the consequences of its allocation for women's ability to perform outside roles and for their sense of marital equity.