14 DAY TRIAL // There seems to be some secret understanding according to which women must do most of the chores around the house, while the men handle things like changing a light bulb, fixing the drain and occasionally cooking a meal. Still, no matter how much men have evolved in terms of sharing chores with their partners, the one thing that has not changed is their aversion to them, a recent poll cited by the Daily Mail reveals.
Conducted by Spontex in the UK, the recent poll has uncovered a well-known, even if often ignored truth: men find housecleaning just as boring as most women do. The only difference is that, while the latter see it as their duty in some way, the former couldn’t care less about who gets upset if they fulfill their obligations around the house. Moreover, as the poll reveals, men would resort to literally any method to get out of a tricky situation – which usually implies them dusting – including pretending not to hear what they’ve been told, and turning to flattery and employing hiding “techniques.”
Aside from the now-usual excuses of feeling ill, having work to do, or the highly popular “you do it so much better than me” line, an overwhelming majority of queried men (59 percent) admits to plainly pretending not to hear when its help is asked for around the house. The poll further shows that one third of men have never cleaned a toilet, 70 percent shamelessly use flattery to get out of doing the job, while 39 percent hide or disappear the moment the cleaning products are laid on the table.
With all that, the poll shows, men are also the first to lie about the kind of work they do around the house, over 48 percent saying they do the laundry without flinching, and a vast majority claiming they do most of the chores without help from the wife or partner. For the former, 69 percent of their wives are calling their bluff, saying they are rarely, if ever, to be found around a washing machine.
“Clearly we have a long way to go to achieve gender equality in the home, but we should recognize there’s been progress. I don’t buy the idea that men avoid housework because they are no good at it. Incompetence is an excuse, not an explanation. The truth is that men probably find housework as boring as women do. Chores are, well, a chore. The interesting fact coming out is not that men avoid housework, but that so many brag about doing any at all.” Scott Coltrane, professor of sociology and an expert in gender equality, says for the Mail in reference to the findings of the study.