AS IT IS 2016-08-27 Women in the Kitchen, Men in the Garage, Americans Say

AS IT IS 2016-08-27 Women in the Kitchen, Men in the Garage, Americans Say

The United States could elect its first woman president in November.

But most Americans still believe in the traditional division of household jobs, according to a new study.

The study surveyed 1,000 adults. It was released at last weekend’s meeting of the American Sociological Association in Seattle, Washington.

Three in four adults believe that in a couple with a man and a woman, the woman should do most housework, the study found. That includes cooking, the laundry, and cleaning the house.

Nearly 90 percent believe that the man should do the automobile¹ repairs and outdoor work.

The survey found that 82 percent of Americans said that women should be responsible for a child’s physical needs. Seventy-two percent said woman should also take care of a child’s emotional needs.

Discipline is an exception

The exception, in the question of childcare, is discipline. Fifty-five percent said men should deal with discipline of children.

And if a couple decides a parent is needed at home to take care of children, 62 percent said it should be the woman, not the man, who stays home.

“Sex was by far the strongest determinant of which tasks people assigned to each spouse² in heterosexual couples,” said Natasha Quadlin, lead author of the study.

Quadlin is a doctoral student in sociology at Indiana University. Working with her on the study was Long Doan, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Maryland.

Survey Released Before Presidential Election

The study’s release comes less than three months before Americans vote for a new a president -- choosing between Democrat³ Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump⁴. If Clinton wins, she would be America’s first woman president.

For same-sex couples, the study found most Americans believe the decisions about who does what should be decided⁵ by which partner is most feminine and which is more masculine.

Sixty percent of Americans said the most feminine partners should cook and buy the food. Sixty-seven percent said that the more masculine partners should handle car repairs and do outdoor work.

Old Stereotypes⁷

Terry O’Neill is president of the National Organization for Women, which works for women’s rights.

She is surprised that a majority of Americans support divisions of work based on old stereotypes. A stereotype⁶ is an often unfair belief about what people should or can do based on their sex or other characteristics.

Old stereotypes about what women do better and what men do better do not make sense for many couples, O’Neill said.

For example, O’Neill said she could fix the family car far better than her ex-husband. But she said her former husband was very good at comforting their daughter. She said he also was able to get her to appointments on time, despite the stereotype that men do not do those tasks very well.

In O’Neill’s opinion, too many couples let one partner, often the man, make decisions about who does the work. What should happen is a “sharing of power, and sharing of decisions,” with negotiations⁸ to decide who does what and when, she said.

It does not seem to matter that many women are working as hard if not harder and earning as much, if not more, than their husbands, said Natasha Quadlin.

“Even if women have higher earnings⁹ than their husbands they are expected to come home and perform a second shift of chores and childcare,” she said.

However, men may pay a price for taking on the outside work responsibilities by themselves.

Another study found that men’s psychological well-being¹⁰ and health declined when they were their families' only member earning an income. Researchers from the University of Connecticut carried out that study, which also was presented at the American Sociological Association meeting.

Words in this Story

survey -- v. an activity in which many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something

couple -- n. two people who are married or who have a romantic or sexual relationship

discipline -- n. control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed and punishing bad behavior

feminine -- adj. of, relating to, or suited to women or girls

characteristic -- n. typical of a person, thing, or group

masculine -- adj. of, relating to, or suited to a man or boys

chore -- n. a small job that is done regularly

1 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

2 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

7 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

9 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

10 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。