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Doing Laundry: An Investigation of Allocating Housework
Doing Laundry: An Investigation of Allocating Housework
Chores. Routine tasks, especially around the household, that no one truly enjoys doing. Whether it is washing the dishes, walking the dog, or taking out the trash, completing chores is a constant and mundane part of everyone's lives. There’s no getting rid of them. Typically, when someone is younger, chores are assigned by a parent. This is how the torch of responsibility gets passed down from generation to generation. As simple as it may seem, being assigned chores at a young age is an integral step to becoming an adult. It is a first step to accepting a lifetime of responsibilities. Yet, the weight at which America’s youth experiences chores today has decreased a fair bit over the past couple decades. In truth, the burden of chores have been decreasing since the birth of the nation. As invention and innovation have blossomed, American families no longer need to complete every step of every basic lifestyle process. Water comes out of a tap rather than from a well half a mile away, fruits and vegetables can be delivered in a matter of hours rather than grown in a matter of months, and washing clothes is an activity that lasts a couple hours rather than a whole day. Chores are less grueling and more infrequent. Consequently, the division of chores has become an integral, and somewhat complex, part of relationships. People grow up with less responsibility and are less equipped to act as independent individuals. This results in an overcomplicated battle to reach an equal sharing of household tasks that often leaves both partners dissatisfied. Chores, whether liked or not, are a fundamental part of life, and the evolution of their burden has caused a reduction of interpersonal skills and has reshaped how romantic and platonic household relationships are run today.
Through the introduction of electricity and specialized machinery, completing chores have become much more seamless and easier to accomplish. “Exhausting physical labor from sunup to sundown” has become a thing of the past (1). Tasks like doing laundry and cooking now last a couple hours, rather than an entire day. Throughout the nineteenth century, laundry was one of the most “arduous and dreaded tasks” (1). There was no running water and no gas or electricity. This meant water had to be brought over from a river or well, then heated on some sort of stove or fire, all before the actual cleaning process even began (1). Laundry was a weather dependent event, making an already excruciating process even more frustrating. The transition from rubbing clothes on a washboard, to churning them around in a galvanized tub, to just tossing them in the wash machine was massive (1). The amount of time saved per year through this transition almost seems innumerable and weather was no longer an issue. Through this reduction of chore time, people have been able to invest in other activities. In a 2014 study conducted by Braun Research, only 28% of parents reported requiring their kids to complete chores, while 82% reported having chore requirements when they were younger (2). Kids today spend less time completing tasks at home. “Organized activities, such as sports” have taken over blocks of time where chores once stood tall; laundry is no longer arduous enough for parents to requisite the aid of their kids (2). Extracurricular activities have become a priority for many parents instead. In the same Braun Research study, caregivers were asked to rank the importance of several different time commitments and an outstanding 81% ranked academics as the number one priority (2). Chores ranked as the least important activity for 50% of participants (2). Academics are more important than ever and extracurriculars have become a massive part of resume building and college admissions. The reduction of chore time has made it possible for people to deeper invest in professional, educational, athletic, and artistic areas.
[Figure #1] A modern guide for parents on what chores their kids should be accomplishing at different ages. Differs greatly from ardous expecations of the past [5].
It is no surprise that parents want their kids to succeed at the highest academic level possible. Yet, the reduction of household responsibilities has caused a reduction in attributes many would argue are essential to being an adult. Chores have been known to “[foster] interpersonal skills, responsibility, educational attainment and career success, and mental health, such as empathy” (2). While extracurriculars may have a similar effect, chores have been studied plenty and are known to produce “responsible young adults” (2). The lack of household responsibilities for youth has resulted in a greater number of stressful romantic and platonic household relationships.
[Figure #2] This graph demonstrates how single and married men spend less time completing housework than single and married women [3].
It is important to also note how the allocation of chores has shifted overtime in terms of gender. The University of Michigan’s Panel Study on Income Dynamics has been conducting a study on the allocation of chores since 1968. They have found that “the amount of housework done by women has decreased” by about ten hours from 1976 to 2005, while “housework done by men has doubled” from six to twelve hours in that same time span (3). Since before the nineteenth century, the expectation was that women would complete most of, if not all, the housework. The theory of separate spheres existed well until the twentieth century. Only in recent history has housework been allocated more fairly. Still, married women tend to take on more chores. In the University of Michigan study, it was determined that married women take on seven more hours of chores than single women, while married men gain an hour of freedom as opposed to single men (3). Although egalitarian gender role attitudes have become more prominent, the issue of fairly allocating housework is still very real, and still somewhat biased.
Learning to balance an equity in work hours and an urge to fall into a system of specialization has become a main issue for many relationships [4]. With many people now growing up and completing less chores, allocating housework fairly has become an issue. Egalitarian gender role attitudes are much more mainstream today, yet many couples fall into traditional roles as a result of zero specialization. The most satisfied relationships seem to be those that completely focus on balancing equity in work hours [4]. This means both people living together interchange the chores they are completing, but at the end of the week, can say that they have completed the same amount of work. Enlisting youth in chores from an early age can be a great form of ensuring that traditional roles do not become a reality. Both parties having interpersonal skills and the ability to take on responsibilities results in a more fair allocation of chores. It is important for people to become used to accomplishing housework from a young age so it becomes a given part of relationships. Chores, although mundane, have become a large part of relationships, portraying how partners are equitable with one another, and becoming a complex determinant for compatibility.
[Figure #3] An explanation on why women continue to accomplish more housework today [3].
Footnotes:
[1] Carter, Constance. “Transcript of The History of Household Technology.” The Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/journey/household-transcript.html.
[2] Barlow, Kate, and Michael Salemi. “Childhood Occupations: The Prevalence of Childhood Engagement in Chores.” The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, vol. 73, no. 4_Supplement_1, 2019, https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2019.73s1-po8025.
[3] “Chore Wars: Men, Women and Housework.” National Science Foundation, https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_images.jsp?cntn_id=111458.
[4] Blom, Niels, et al. “Couples' Division of Employment and Household Chores and Relationship Satisfaction: A Test of the Specialization and Equity Hypotheses.” European Sociological Review, vol. 33, no. 2, 2017, pp. 195–208., http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/44507704. Accessed 2 Apr. 2023.
[5] Fleming, LaKeisha. “How to Divide Chores Among Your Kids.” Verywell Family, Verywell Family, 14 June 2022, https://www.verywellfamily.com/how-to-divide-chores-among-your-kids-4777709.
Research Report
Research Report
After reading the comments left by my peers, and doing some external research, I have decided that I should narrow down the focus of my project. I found that there is a lot of information on how chores affect relationships between people, whether it be a partnership, family, or just how someone interacts with an external person or environment. I have also been able to find information on how chores have evolved in a more general sense, meaning how the amount of work has changed and how gender roles within chores have transformed. With this new information, I have decided to narrow down my project to simply answer how the evolution of chores have affected and transformed the relationships we have in our lives today.
Annotated Bibliography
Aziz, Haris, et al. “Fair Allocation of Indivisible Goods and Chores.” Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, vol. 36, no. 1, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10458-021-09532-8.
This article considers the problem of dividing chores in a relationship. It divides chores into having a positive and negative utility towards the partnership and underscores the complexity of maintaining a fair division.
Barlow, Kate, and Michael Salemi. “Childhood Occupations: The Prevalence of Childhood Engagement in Chores.” The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, vol. 73, no. 4_Supplement_1, 2019, https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2019.73s1-po8025.
This brief article talks about the decrease in children’s responsibilities in the household in recent decades. It mentions the importance of having responsibilities to foster interpersonal skills.
Blom, Niels, et al. “Couples' Division of Employment and Household Chores and Relationship Satisfaction: A Test of the Specialization and Equity Hypotheses.” European Sociological Review, vol. 33, no. 2, 2017, pp. 195–208., http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/44507704. Accessed 2 Apr. 2023.
This article explores the time divided between employment and household chores for partners in a relationship. Specifically, this article investigates how the time spent on each activity affects the satisfaction within the relationship.
Carter, Constance. “Transcript of The History of Household Technology.” The Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/journey/household-transcript.html.
This article uses mid-nineteenth century texts to analyze how housework has evolved in America over the past century. It takes a deep dive on certain tasks, emphasizing how laborious chores were before.
“Chore Wars: Men, Women and Housework.” National Science Foundation, https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_images.jsp?cntn_id=111458.
This article discusses a five-decade long University of Michigan study on income dynamics. It identifies how the division of housework has shifted over the period in which the study was conducted.
Logan, Dana W. “Ritual Chores: Catharine Beecher’s Domesticity.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion, vol. 89, no. 3, 2021, pp. 1074–1099., https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfab042.
This article focuses on the chores within female spheres in Protestant households during the late nineteenth century. It addresses these activities and analyzes how these chores affected families.
Quadlin, Natasha, and Long Doan. “Gender, Urbanicity, and Housework.” Gender and Society, vol. 32, no. 6, 2018, pp. 789–813. JSTOR, https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/26597112. Accessed 2 Apr. 2023.
This article discusses how chores differ in different types of communities, specifically urban, suburban and rural. It investigates how chores affect people’s lifestyle and it determines which chores are more female and more male centered.
Research Proposal
Research Proposal
The topic I have chosen for my final research project involves investigating the importance and history of chores in an American household. I could go a few ways with this project, but I really want to look into how chores have evolved overtime in the nation. Additionally, I want to investigate how the evolution of chores have affected kids differently over time. Chores are a very important part of growing up as they help us become responsible and driven adults. I believe it would be very interesting to investigate the progression of chores from the start of the nation until today, comparing and contrasting their impact on different groups of Americans.
Growing up I was never a fan of chores. Cleaning dishes, doing the laundry, and mowing the lawn were always low parts of the week. This is a sentiment I am sure many share. From shoveling snow to vacuuming a room, chores are something that everyone begrudgingly ends up accomplishing if they do not want their parents mad. Although they are annoying, the chores we have today are nowhere nearly as laborious as the chores of our ancestors. Running water from a well, making food from scratch, and making soap to clean clothes and dishes are all tougher, more timely activities than simply just folding some laundry. Chores have changed in terms of both physicality and mentality.
As an extension of this, every parent always claims to have had a tougher upbringing than their child, and the type of chores they had to complete contribute to this sentiment. I think it would be interesting to investigate parents’ expectations for their kids based on the chores they had to complete when they were young. Are parents more lenient on their kids than their parents were on them? Do parents have unrealistic expectations for their kids in a world where technology makes chores easier? How have chores transcended just being a physical activity? Are chores more, less, or equally as important today? Do parents really need their kids to do chores today? How fast are chores evolving? These questions, among others, all tie into the primary focus of how the evolution of chores have affected the youth in America.
About the Author
About the Author
Tommy grew up about an hour outside of New York City in Fairfield County, Connecticut. With no real stateside sports teams to follow, he has devoted too much of his time suffering as a New York sports fan. All other time was spent watching movies. He is now a junior at Boston University majoring in Film and Television and minoring in History, hoping to one day work on a major film production.
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