Other consequences of being a woman

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 508.

Role overload is not the only disadvantage women of today may expe­rience. A negative self-concept and lack of self-confidence are other dis­advantages. In a study in which women and men were told they were incapable of performing a mental task, the women were more likely than the men to believe that they were incapable (Wagner et al. 1986). Another study showed that women are more likely to think their suc­cess is due to luck than to their own ability (Heimovics and Herman 1988). A further problem for many mothers is the difficulty they have in finding new interests and activities when their children leave home. But there are also advantages to being a modern woman. One is the likelihood of living longer. In 1998 in the United States, average life expectancy for men was 73.9, whereas for women it was 79.4. Other advantages are being able to express emotions more easily, hav­ing a closer bond with children, and not having one's identity tied to employment. One big advantage today is that women have so many options. It is socially acceptable to work full-time if you have children, but it is also acceptable to be a full-time mother and stay at home, or to work part-time.

Avoiding the housework

Jokes about men and housework are common in TV shows and newspaper comics. But research shows that there may be at least a little truth in these jokes.

Mackay (Kissane 1990) revealed four tactics that men some­times use to avoid doing household chores:

• Helplessness - he agrees to cook but asks directions for every step.

• Getting the kids to do it - he insists that they are old enough to help and he is not needed.

• Going slowly - he hopes that his wife will find it more trouble than it is worth to ask him for help again.

• The ‘black-cloud' strategy - he does the chores, but so ungraciously that the wife feels angry and upset.

Men in this study justified their tactics by claiming that women ‘want it both ways.' They also argued that they had never agreed to the concept of sharing housework.