Comments on: Ozzie and Harriet were right

By: jason

jason — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 03:49:53 +0000

It’s easy to think that you’d love to work few or no hours while someone else supports you, but I wonder how many men would truly find themselves fulfilled being a “house husband”
*Raises Hand* When my wife and I have children, I’m planning on moving to half-time, and if I need to take a pay cut to do that I’m perfectly fine with that (work may be flexible with working at home, we’ll see). If by chance her income is such that it allows me to stay at home full time, all the better. Really, if you can just find an equitable balance of home and outside work that you both enjoy then run with it. Traditional gender roles of homemaker and breadwinner tire me as unnecessary, though if it works for you thats fine too.

By: lawyerchik1

lawyerchik1 — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 21:45:24 +0000

I think one of your other points, though,was that “women who hold more traditional attitudes about home, family, and work report more affection and understanding from their husbands.” I would guess that part of the reason for that is that those women’s expectations are being met – they expect their husbands to fulfill a more traditional role, including being the principal breadwinner, and their expectations are being met.
I think women, especially, seem to think that we can “have it all” – we can be as good as men in the workplace, but still have the softer side of a marriage and family in which the husband is the primary breadwinner and is emotionally engaged.
From this side of the issue, though, the problem is that the premise ignors exactly what you said: “Men and women *are* different, though different is not synonymous with better or worse, or more or less valuable.”
How do you tell a generation or two of men and women, “oops. We made a mistake?”

By: Eric Seymour

Eric Seymour — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 16:14:52 +0000

It’s important to note, I think, that this study was about how happy women are with their marraiges, not happy in general.
It’s easy to think that you’d love to work few or no hours while someone else supports you, but I wonder how many men would truly find themselves fulfilled being a “house husband” while their wives were out doing the breadwinning. For years, mainstream feminism has looked down upon the role of “stay-at-home mom” (or, as I prefer “full-time mom”), but this study seems to indicate that it is fulfilling for many women.

By: Foltz

Foltz — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 15:38:43 +0000

However, in what will be a surprise to some, it found that women are also happier when their husbands provide 68 percent or more of the family income
This certainly seems that this could be a forced conclusion. One could reasonably assume the spouse that brings in the most income works the most hours at the income baring job, while the other spouse might work fewer job hours and have more time with the kids or just free time period.

By: Joshua Claybourn

Joshua Claybourn — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 15:20:44 +0000

However, in what will be a surprise to some, it found that women are also happier when their husbands provide 68 percent or more of the family income.
I think it’s worth noting that I would also be happier (and I suspect a good chunk of men would be too) if my wife provided 68 percent or more of the family income.