The "Useless Man" Myth Makes Working Moms Feel Better

Why do working moms complain so much about their "useless" husbands? A new study by Rebecca Meisenbach of the University of Missouri suggests that it's all to make them feel better about themselves:

If there is one thing on which many working mothers agree, it is that their partners do not pull their weight on the domestic front.

But research to be published this week reveals that men are being unfairly accused and working women are advancing the myth of the "useless man" so they can feel more feminine. "Working women who provide the majority of the household's income to the family continue to articulate themselves as the ones who 'see' household messes and needs as a way to retain claims to an element of a traditional feminine identity," said Dr Rebecca Meisenbach, whose research paper, The Female Breadwinner, will be published this week in the journal Sex Roles.

But Meisenbach said the trend of the female high achiever and the male slacker is a tall story that women tell each other to compensate for the fact that most career-orientated women feel an "overwhelming sense of guilt" over their role and less of a mother and a wife.

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I would reply, but I've got to relocate two computers, clear up after the cat, make the bathroom door fit properly, clean the oven, finish some college work and hang out the washing first. And cut the grass and make three more raised beds at the allotment if it ever stops raining.
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1. Relocate two computers: 10 minutes
2. Clear up after the cat: 5 minutes
3. Make the bathroom door fit properly: 30 minutes
4. Clean the oven: 20 minutes
5. Finish some college work: 1.5 hours
6. Cut the grass: 30 minutes
7. Make three more raised beds: 1 hour

Four hours and five minutes of varied work. Poor you.
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I ain't complaining, just suggesting that we're not all useless. Anyway, moving the computers involved a couple of hours carpentry and moving a mains socket. On the other hand, cutting the grass hasn't happened and only takes five minutes when it does.
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I talk about my husband because he's funny. He strips off his clothes and throws them in the middle of the floor, drops candy wrappers beside his recliner, acts like he doesn't know how to clean a dish, and then complains he can't have his friends over because "no one" ever cleans anymore.
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I've been married more times than I care to admit, and spent a few years as a single mom. I can attest from experience that some men are more useless than others. Appreciate what you have.
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News Flash: People complain about their spouses to their friends. Plot twist: the complaints are petty and unfounded.

This is not news and not especially neat unless the point of the post is to once again show the stupidly obvious crap that gets "researched".
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I've always wondered of these studies and their results. I mean, are these results on specific subjects done by research firms, by-products of studies, or just mindless busy work because there arn't enough industries requesting work from them? Meh, I duno, it just sounds like a lot of these stuff is done in someone's free time because the cable TV is out due to a thunder storm.
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It probably has more to do with the fact that any married man on television is portrayed as a socially stunted baboon who is one brain cell away from microwaving the cat.

From commercials to sitcoms, it has become fashionable and funny to make fun of men who would simply subsist on chips and beer if their highly competent wives didn't appear and rescue them at the last second with a well-thought out meal solution or cut them down with a clever zinger.

My wife and I both work full time; I handle more than half the work, because she has a funny shift rotation. We don't publicly deride each other for not pulling our weight. And I find it insulting when other people try to characterize their husbands as incompetent or useless, especially when I know the husband and I know he's intelligent and capable.

I wouldn't dream of speaking about women the way I hear some women talking about men.
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@Kev

Deep inside we all want to microwave the cat, we just feign being mentally stunted as our rationalisation for our actions. But jokes aside, it's been proven the myth of women being gossipy then men is false, and it's practically 50/50. It's all about the personality of the individual, but it's also proven that it's human nature to categorize everything and take it as truth even though the generalisation is incorrect. They can have as many of these research studies as they want, but not enough people are going to listen to them to get rid of these misconceptions I feel. These are fun facts that most people forget the day after like the yesterday's morning news.
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@Kev

Deep inside we all want to microwave the cat, we just feign being mentally stunted as our rationalisation for our actions. But jokes aside, it's been proven the myth of women being gossipy then men is false, and it's practically 50/50. It's all about the personality of the individual, but it's also proven that it's human nature to categorize everything and take it as truth even though the generalisation is incorrect. They can have as many of these research studies as they want, but not enough people are going to listen to them to get rid of these misconceptions I feel. These are fun facts that most people forget the day after like the yesterday's morning news.
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The article complains about generalizations that are less than flattering to men, while making sweeping negative generalizations about women who work outside the home.

I love the smell of irony in the morning.
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Yeah if I'm that bad just leave. My only complaint is that I can't complain about the same things women do for the same reasons they do because I'm a man. I respect single moms until they get a man and expect him to do everything while they make up the lost lazy time. Vini Vidi Vici. :p
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