If a man takes on his fair share of housework, he’ll be a more amorous lover
A man who is not afraid to do his fair share of the housework is likely to be a more amorous lover, according to new research from the University of Alberta.
It found that on average, a more equal division of chores between a couple led to much more “satisfying sex” for both people.
"Rather than avoiding chores in the hopes of having more sex, men are likely to experience more frequent and satisfying passion for both partners between the sheets when they simply do their fair share,” explained lead researcher and family ecology professor Matt Johnson.
Johnson looked at data from a five-year study involving 1,338 German couples, and determined how a man's perception of his contribution to housework was related to his sex life.
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He found that when a man perceived his contributions to the division of labour as fair, the couple engaged in more frequent sex and both male and female partners were more satisfied.
It's a complete contradiction from a US study carried out in 2012. Called Egalitarianism, Housework, and Sexual Frequency in Marriage, it claimed that when men perform traditionally “female” tasks, like doing the dishes, cooking and laundry, the couple had less sex.
"That study didn't ring true," said Johnson. "It didn't fit with my intuition and background experiences as a couple's therapist."
There's also another, unaccounted for difference between the two studies – they involve two different nationalities. But Johnson said that the fact that Germany has more traditional gender roles means the positive impact of equality should be even more pronounced in North America.
There are cultural differences but if the logic held from the prior studies, we would have expected to have a more pronounced negative impact of housework on sexuality in Germany because it's a bit more traditional. But that wasn't the case at all.