Couple who share house chores enjoy better sex life, research reveals
Couples who share housework equally have more sex, research has revealed. Cornell University Professor Sharon Sassler states in her new research paper, A Reversal in Predictors of Sexual Frequency and satisfaction in Marriage, that couples who practice division of labour have more sex than those with one partner doing all the chores.
“Contemporary couples who adhere to a more egalitarian division of labour are the only couples who have experienced an increase in sexual frequency compared to their counterparts of the past,” states Prof Sassler in her paper.
Couples who have less sex have the woman doing most of the housework.
“Other groups – including those where the woman does the bulk of the housework – have experienced declines in sexual frequency. This finding is particularly notable given reports indicating that sexual frequency has generally declined worldwide over the past few decades.”
SEXIST STEREOTYPES
Sassler’s new findings – from data on a nationwide 2006 study of marital satisfaction in the United States – also suggests couples who do away with sexist stereotypes regarding chores have a “deepened desire”.
In homes with unequal distribution of chores, women are always the ones doing most work according to the research.
“Routine housework” as defined by Sassler’s research including preparing and cooking meals, washing dishes and grocery shopping.
The research further found out that not only did the division of labour determine the frequency of sex but also dividing without gender stereotypes.
For such couples the women did not always cook and men were not always required to do manual work.
Similar to Australian findings, in 63 per cent of the US homes studied, women are lumbered with the majority of housework, even in circumstances where women work longers hours and earn more than their significant other.
