Introduction
Nowadays, due to the modifying of traditional values of society, many women go to work. However, even though the roles of males and females became different over the years, the issue of housework remains topical. Despite the changes that occurred in gender roles, women have more welcoming attitudes toward childcare, doing laundry, and cleaning, while men are more positive about gardening and home maintenance. In this essay, the comparison of male and female attitudes to households will be included. In addition, specific examples that support the argument will be presented.
Main body
According to my observations, men have less favorable attitudes than women towards certain household duties, such as cooking or doing laundry. For example, in Asia, the majority of men consider housework to be a woman’s duty. Historically, it has resulted from the traditional way of life of previous generations, when males were in charge of hunting and providing food, while females were responsible for cooking and other duties. As a result, men see domestic labor as a feminine activity and, even if they do some housework, they hesitate to talk about it to their male friends. For instance, in my household, the housework is divided equally between all family members. It means that sometimes my father cleans the apartment, cooks a meal, and washes clothes. In most cases, people in China do not use dryers for clothes, preferring to hang laundry on special ropes in the yard. Even though my father washes the clothes, he never takes them outside. Instead, he asks me to hang wash on the line as he does not want his friends or our neighbors to see him doing housework. Some men see it as a threat to their masculinity.
It is worth noticing that men prefer to do work that implies the use of physical force, such as gardening or home maintenance, while women enjoy cleaning or preparing meals. Sometimes, the negative attitude of men to cleaning and cooking is ensured by the fact that they do not know how to do it in a proper way. For example, in China, women tend to do all the work at houses on their own, as their parents taught them that the household should be run by females. As a result, men turn out to be helpless when it comes to dusting, washing, and preparation of food. Young males usually leave their homes only when they are married, so their wives could take care of them instead of their mothers. However, men are not bothered to perform duties that require having physical force as it shows their masculinity. It usually includes digging in the garden, plumbing, or organizing car maintenance.
Meanwhile, the attitude of women to housework is completely different. For example, in China, from the time of their childhood, females are told that once they marry and have kids, housekeeping should become their main duty. As a result, the majority of women start learning how to be good housewives at a very young age. When females in China receive a positive comment about the food they cooked or the cleanness of their apartment, they consider it a compliment.
As for childcare, in most cases, women are more favorable toward babysitting than men. In fact, I know some males who agree to take any job instead of watching kids. For instance, I have a friend who runs her own business and does not have enough time for domestic chores. Sometimes, she has arguments with her husband because he does not want to sit with their baby, even though his working shifts are shorter than the business days of my friend. Asserting that he cannot pacify the baby when it cries because nothing helps, my friend’s spouse insists on prolonging the working hours of their nanny. Instead, he promises to do any other duties at home, even if it includes cooking, washing, or cleaning. Similar situations happened to my cousin, who admitted that he does not have enough patience to sit with the baby when it cries all day long. My friend, however, says that she would love to have maternity leave to take care of her baby, as she finds it interesting and wants to see how her baby grows up.
I would also like to underscore that the attitude of men and women to housekeeping might vary depending on many factors. These factors include cultural peculiarities of the population in different countries, the way how people are brought up, and norms and customs prevailing in their society. Thus, in developing countries men tend to work more than women, and, as a result, women perform housework duties more often than their husbands. In the developed countries with advanced economies, however, the situation is different, as many females prefer working rather than staying at home.
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that, in general, women’s attitude to cleaning, doing laundry, and cooking is more positive compared to men’s position. The reason for that is the fact that some men do not know how to perform these duties. Moreover, they prefer to be involved in work that requires them to use physical force, which emphasizes their masculinity. In addition, females tend to have a more favorable attitude toward childcare than males. Some men assert that they do not know how to calm a baby, while others admit that they do not have enough patience. In general, the attitude of males and females to housekeeping varies depending on many factors, including cultural peculiarities and social norms. In any case, it is significant to divide household duties equally in families where both spouses work to avoid misunderstandings and arguments.