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8/28/2019 Sex and gender more important than income in determining views on division of chores | EurekAlert! Science News
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-08/asa-sag081616.php 1/3
PUBLIC RELEASE: 21-AUG-2016
Sex and gender more important than income in
determining views on division of chores
AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
SEATTLE — For heterosexual couples, most Americans still believe in the traditional division of household labor
between husbands and wives, while for same-sex couples, they think the “more masculine” partner and the
“more feminine” partner should generally be responsible for stereotypically male and female chores,
respectively, suggests a new study that will be presented at the 111th Annual Meeting of the American
Sociological Association (ASA).
“This is the �rst study that looks at Americans’ beliefs about how partners should divide chores and childcare
tasks,” said Natasha Quadlin, the lead author of the study and a doctoral student in sociology at Indiana
University.
Titled, “Making Money, Doing Gender, or Being Essentialist? Partner Characteristics and Americans’ Attitudes
Toward Housework,” the study examined responses from a nationally representative survey of more than
1,000 adults in 2015 to determine which characteristics, including relative income, masculine or feminine
traits, and sex, shape Americans’ ideas about how married couples should divide household labor — indoor
and outdoor chores, as well as childcare. Each respondent was randomly assigned a description of a
heterosexual or same-sex couple. The description included information about each partner’s occupation and
income, as well as his or her hobbies and interests, which cued whether the partner had traditionally
masculine or feminine traits. The respondents also received a list of chores and childcare-related tasks to
assign between the two partners.
Quadlin and co-author Long Doan, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Maryland, found
that among heterosexual couples, partner sex di�erences had the strongest overall e�ect on the assignment
of chores and childcare. “Nearly three quarters of our respondents thought that the female partners in
heterosexual couples should be responsible for cooking, doing laundry, cleaning the house, and buying
groceries,” Quadlin said. “In addition, nearly 90 percent of our respondents thought that heterosexual men
should be responsible for automobile maintenance and outdoor chores. Regardless of the partner’s relative
income or gendered hobbies and interests, our respondents gravitated toward the person’s sex instead.”
When respondents were asked to assign tasks between same-sex partners, traditionally female chores were
generally given to the more feminine partner, and traditionally male tasks were typically assigned to the more
masculine partner. According to the researchers, 66 percent of respondents believed the more feminine
partner should be responsible for buying groceries, 61 percent felt that partner should cook, and 58 percent
thought that partner should clean the house and do the laundry. On the other hand, 67 percent of
respondents believed that the more masculine partner should handle automobile maintenance and outdoor
chores.
8/28/2019 Sex and gender more important than income in determining views on division of chores | EurekAlert! Science News
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“Even in same-sex couples where there are not sex di�erences between partners, people use gender
di�erences as a way to approximate sex di�erences,” Quadlin said.
Women in heterosexual relationships were also expected to handle the majority of childcare tasks. Eighty-two
percent of respondents said the female partner should be responsible for the children’s physical needs, 72
percent thought she should take care of the children’s emotional needs, and 62 percent believed the woman
should be the stay-at-home parent. Male partners were assigned only one childcare task by a majority of
respondents: 55 percent felt the man should be in charge of discipline.
When evaluating same-sex couples, 62 percent of respondents expected the more feminine partner to attend
to the physical needs of the children, and 60 percent believed the more feminine spouse should handle the
emotional needs of the children, the researchers said. The �ndings for whether the more masculine or
feminine partner should be the stay-at-home parent and be in charge of discipline were not statistically
signi�cant for same-sex couples.
Interestingly, the e�ect of relative income on the allocation of chores and childcare responsibilities was
consistently weak for both heterosexual and same-sex couples. For example, according to the researchers, 75
percent of respondents said that the female partner in heterosexual relationships should be responsible for
doing laundry, compared to 57 percent who said the responsibility should fall to the lower-earning partner.
“Sex was by far the strongest determinant of which tasks people assigned to each spouse in heterosexual
couples,” Quadlin said. “But, surprisingly, that theme extended to same-sex couples. When there wasn’t a sex
di�erence between partners, people relied on information about gender to guide their beliefs about what
people should be doing. So, in other words, they took the heterosexual norm, where there are certain chores
that men are expected to do and certain chores that women are expected to do, and used that same
rationalization to determine household responsibilities for same-sex couples. We were surprised that
happened to the extent that it did, because we thought expectations for household responsibilities would be
more egalitarian between same-sex partners.”
In terms of the study’s importance, Quadlin said the research provides insight into the state of gender equality
in America. “Determining who does what in the home is a complex negotiation that re�ects underlying power
dynamics in the household,” Quadlin said. “We have public policies aimed at ensuring that women and men
have equal earnings, but those policies will not necessarily advance gender equality in the home if people
maintain such gendered attitudes. Even if women have higher earnings than their husbands, they are
expected to come home and perform a second shift of chores and childcare.”
###
About the American Sociological Association
The American Sociological Association, founded in 1905, is a non-pro�t membership association dedicated to
serving sociologists in their work, advancing sociology as a science and profession, and promoting the
contributions to and use of sociology by society.
8/28/2019 Sex and gender more important than income in determining views on division of chores | EurekAlert! Science News
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The paper, “Making Money, Doing Gender, or Being Essentialist? Partner Characteristics and Americans’
Attitudes Toward Housework,” will be presented on Sunday, Aug. 21, at 2:30 p.m. PDT in Seattle at the
American Sociological Association’s 111th Annual Meeting.
To obtain a copy of the paper; for assistance reaching the study’s author(s); or for more information on other
ASA presentations, members of the media can contact Daniel Fowler, ASA Media Relations Manager, at (202)
527-7885 or pubinfo@asanet.org. During the Annual Meeting (Aug. 20-23), ASA Public Information O�ce sta�
can be reached in the on-site press o�ce, located in Room 601 of the Washington State Convention Center, at
(206) 219-4513 or (914) 450-4557 (cell).
Elizabeth McCauley, ASA Public Information O�ce, wrote this press release.
Papers presented at the ASA Annual Meeting are typically working papers that have not yet been published in
peer-reviewed journals.
Contact: Daniel Fowler, (202) 527-7885, (914) 450-4557 (cell), pubinfo@asanet.org
On-site Press O�ce (Aug. 20-23): Washington State Convention Center, Room 601, (206) 219-4513
Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to
EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.
Media Contact
Daniel Fowler
pubinfo@asanet.org
202-527-7885
¬ @ASANews
http://www.asanet.org �
8/28/2019 Is meat manly? How society pressures us to make gendered food choices. –
The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/is-meat-manly-how-society-pressures-us-to-make-gendered-food-choices/2017/01/24/84669506-dce1-11e6-918c-… 1/9
The Washington Post
Wellness
Is meat manly? How society pressures us to make gendered food
choices.
By Christy Brissette
January 25, 2017
In every country on the planet, men don’t live as long as women do. We’ve all come to accept this as a fact.
After all, as my dad used to say, “It isn’t manly to go to the doctor.” This and many other gendered beliefs affect
men and women’s health habits, including the types of foods they choose to eat.
For example, we’re constantly bombarded with advertising and social messaging telling us that eating like a
bird and dining on salad is feminine, while eating large portions and plenty of red meat is manly. These
oversimplified representations of female and male eating habits may seem outdated, but research shows they
persist for many of us.
These socially influenced eating patterns could in part help explain why men are at a higher risk of heart
disease and some cancers. Are our ideas about masculinity and femininity negatively affecting our health?
Manly meals and feminine foods
This may not come as a surprise, but overall, women have healthier eating habits than men. Research suggests
this is mostly a learned response.
Luke Zhu, assistant professor at the University of Manitoba, researches societal aspects that affect food
decisions.
Based on the research of his group and others, Zhu says in an email, “Unhealthy eating habits and foods (e.g.
fries, nachos) are psychologically associated with masculinity while ‘healthy’ eating habits and foods (e.g. salad,
organic food) are psychologically associated with femininity.”
Joop de Boer is a retired social psychologist and guest researcher at VU University in Amsterdam. “Energy-
dense, spicy and strongly flavored foods are perceived as masculine foods,” de Boer says, “while soft and sweet
foods are perceived as feminine foods.”
Traditional gender beliefs could negatively affect your health
8/28/2019 Is meat manly? How society pressures us to make gendered food choices. – The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/is-meat-manly-how-society-pressures-us-to-make-gendered-food-choices/2017/01/24/84669506-dce1-11e6-918c-… 2/9
Do you like to have wine or beer with dinner? Do you have fruit or french fries with your lunch? Chances are,
your answers could reveal your gender identity.
According to de Boer, markers of masculinity include eating a burger with fries for lunch, or having pizza and
beer for dinner. Markers of femininity include eating pasta salad and fruit for lunch, or rice and vegetables with
wine for dinner.
The health implications of these choices are obvious: Overall, women are choosing foods with more fiber and
antioxidants, while men tend to overdo it on saturated fat and empty calories. This may be because women are
more likely to seek out health information and, as de Boer says, buy in to information on the health aspects of
specific foods — for instance, “super foods.”
De Boer suggests that men and women who see masculinity and femininity as less separate and strictly defined
aren’t as different in their meat preferences, while those with more traditional gender beliefs are more likely to
eat more meat if they’re men or to choose more sugar-laden desserts if they’re women.
“Our work shows that traditional framings of masculinity, emphasizing that ‘real men’ eat meat, are associated
with the men’s preferences for large meat portions and almost no willingness to reduce,” de Boer says. For
these men, “eating large meat portions is a marker of masculinity, which reflects traditional, patriarchal
notions of power and performance.”
This deep-set belief could pose a serious threat to men’s health, as research suggests that incorporating more
plant-based proteins can improve health and lengthen one’s life.
Zhu’s research has found that regardless of gender, people make different food choices when the concept of
masculinity or femininity is brought up. “When we made the idea of masculinity salient, people preferred less-
healthy food. When we did so with femininity, people chose healthier food.” As a result, women tend to be
more comfortable making the healthier choice.
Culture also affects gender roles and therefore food choices. In recent research published in Appetite, de Boer
and colleagues examined beliefs about meat among young adults in the Netherlands who were either second-
generation Dutch, Chinese or Turkish. The second-generation Turkish adults expressed a stronger association
between meat and masculinity, while the second-generation Dutch group held the weakest link between ideas
of meat as masculine.
8/28/2019 Is meat manly? How society pressures us to make gendered food choices. – The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/is-meat-manly-how-society-pressures-us-to-make-gendered-food-choices/2017/01/24/84669506-dce1-11e6-918c-… 3/9
De Boer notes that people may try to manage their gender identity via food choices that could be positive or
negative. For example, an individual might make unhealthy eating choices in an attempt to be more masculine
— a change in behavior that could have serious health implications.
Overcoming gendered food stereotypes for better health
The goal of learning about the affect of gender on eating habits and health is to make it easier to make healthy
food choices. Gender can be a strategic factor for both sexes.
Zhu and de Boer agree that increasing our awareness of gender-framed foods and eating behaviors gives us the
power to change them.
Zhu also suggests that being more mindful when making food choices can help you focus on the food rather
than on external factors. Ask yourself why you’re choosing a certain food. Is it peer pressure? Is it because it
was advertised as a more masculine or feminine food? This awareness can help you make healthier food
choices.
Individuals can reframe their behavior to change any gendered preconceptions , says de Boer. For example,
cooking at home isn’t masculine or feminine — it’s an essential skill for eating well and taking care of yourself.
De Boer says, “Men who cook and see this as a more feminine behavior can give it a ‘masculine makeover’ by
portraying themselves as gourmands who cook and clean and are efficient and urbane.”
For the food and nutrition writers, advertisers and marketers out there, your messaging affects more than
purchasing behavior: It affects health.
“We’ve found that people are more likely to choose unhealthy food if it’s packaged in masculine packaging,”
Zhu says. “People have better evaluations and higher purchasing intentions for food that is unhealthy and
packaged in masculine packaging.” The opposite was also true, suggesting that healthier food choices can be
achieved by selling healthy food in more feminine packaging. It’s this type of purchasing psychology that could
positively affect your health habits.
De Boer points out that popular men’s magazines can make vegetables and plant-based proteins appeal to
readers by linking these foods to autonomy, performance and appearance-based goals. A man who believes in
more-traditional gender roles may not eat more broccoli because of its cancer-fighting potential but because its
8/28/2019 Is meat manly? How society pressures us to make gendered food choices. – The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/is-meat-manly-how-society-pressures-us-to-make-gendered-food-choices/2017/01/24/84669506-dce1-11e6-918c-… 4/9
nutrients could help support muscle growth. The same magazine also could have oversize steaks and racks of
ribs in the same article. Whether you choose to buy that magazine or follow its advice is up to you.
Christy Brissette is a dietitian, foodie and president of 80Tw entyNutrition.com. Follow her on Tw itter
@80tw entyrule.
More from Lifestyle:
Yes, it’s possible to dine out and eat a healthful meal
Why is healthy food so expensive? Maybe because we expect it to be.
We need to eat less meat. Should the government step in?
A diet rich in fruits and vegetables outweighs the risks of pesticides
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8/28/2019 Is meat manly? How society pressures us to make gendered food choices. – The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/is-meat-manly-how-society-pressures-us-to-make-gendered-food-choices/2017/01/24/84669506-dce1-11e6-918c-… 5/9
8/28/2019 Is meat manly? How society pressures us to make gendered food choices. – The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/is-meat-manly-how-society-pressures-us-to-make-gendered-food-choices/2017/01/24/84669506-dce1-11e6-918c-… 6/9
8/28/2019 Is meat manly? How society pressures us to make gendered food choices. – The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/is-meat-manly-how-society-pressures-us-to-make-gendered-food-choices/2017/01/24/84669506-dce1-11e6-918c-… 7/9
8/28/2019 Is meat manly? How society pressures us to make gendered food choices. – The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/is-meat-manly-how-society-pressures-us-to-make-gendered-food-choices/2017/01/24/84669506-dce1-11e6-918c-… 8/9
8/28/2019 Is meat manly? How society pressures us to make gendered food choices. – The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/is-meat-manly-how-society-pressures-us-to-make-gendered-food-choices/2017/01/24/84669506-dce1-11e6-918c-… 9/9
8/28/2019 Food Advertising Feeding Gender Stereotypes – Marissa Madar – Medium
https://medium.com/@MadarMarissaUSF/food-advertising-feeding-gender-stereotypes-82f011a5f09e 1/4
Food Advertising Feeding Gender
Stereotypes
Marissa Madar Follow
Feb 28, 2015 · 5 min read
We may not always see it, but gendering of food and even many other things is
EVERYWHERE. On the television, on the radio, or even at the mall. No matter where we
look or where we are, it is always with us, following us around, telling us what to buy
and what to eat. Not cool advertisements! But what’s scarier is realizing that we are
giving into these advertisements, women are buying the yogurt and men are buying the
steak burritos…. I’ll just leave this here for you to witness the transparent gendered
advertisement…
If the name of the commercial (Manmercials) isn’t enough to realize that something is
not right then maybe the listing of what real men do and don’t do will help you out. The
8/28/2019 Food Advertising Feeding Gender Stereotypes – Marissa Madar – Medium
https://medium.com/@MadarMarissaUSF/food-advertising-feeding-gender-stereotypes-82f011a5f09e 2/4
list can go on and on of food chains gendering their food with the help of
advertisements. There are some that even go as far as naming their product with the
word ‘men’ in it, for example, the Hungry Man brand. Mostly made up of sloppy joes,
steaks, and other various meats, this is what “real men” eat. So what does this mean for
the women? Do we only eat yogurts, chocolate, and drink skinny margarita’s? How
satisfying are these foods for women? Maybe it’s just me, but those hungry man meals
sure seem more filling than my cup of strawberry yogurt.
Why…
Researching why food companies advertise their products in such ways was very
interesting to me. Companies do whatever it takes to make the most money they can,
these companies target genders to make it seem like they need that product, just because
other men and women are eating that product too. In the book “Food is Love: Food
Advertising and Gender Roles in Modern America” the author Katherine Parkin stated,
advertisers commonly believe that women and men spoke different languages and that
their minds worked differently. Women rely on intuition and men thought things
through to their logical conclusions. The language used in advertisements for women
should be common and sensible instead of technical or of the kind that is ordinarily used
to influence men (Parkin 16). Companies take the time to research why women and men
think the way they do and use that against us in their advertising. Women especially
became a priority to many companies, women are usually seen as the stay at home mom
who cooks the food and tries to focus on their body image. Products such as Lean
Cuisine, Betty Crocker and others jumped right on this advertising train. Now it is
obvious that women have come a far way from being the stay at home mom and just a
caretaker for the home. But advertisers are still feeding into this type of woman, the
mom who cooks for the family. This is why women are a main focus for advertisers.
These companies won’t advertise the independent women who cooks only for herself,
only for her husband and children. But its 2015, women are always cooking and taking
care of themselves now. It’s 2015! So why are we being advertised what to eat and where
to eat it?
How This is Affecting Gender Stereotypes
Advertising plays a big role in everyone’s lives. We are constantly watching television or
surfing the internet so basically advertisers have it made in the modern world.
8/28/2019 Food Advertising Feeding Gender Stereotypes – Marissa Madar – Medium
https://medium.com/@MadarMarissaUSF/food-advertising-feeding-gender-stereotypes-82f011a5f09e 3/4
Technology has brought advertising to a level it has never seen before. But with this
advancement in food advertising comes advancement of gender roles. As seen above, the
Taco Bell Manmercial made it pretty clear on what they think real men do and eat. This
is brainwashing males into thinking they are only real men if they drive a truck and eat a
steak burrito. Men are men, no matter what they eat. But maybe eating steak will make
them feel better about their ego? I wouldn’t know, but this is what it seems like. Men are
advertised as powerful with a big appetite, bigger than a woman’s. This takes affect all
the time, for example at a restaurant, if a man and woman are on a date it is mostly
conditioned as the man ordering the steak and the woman ordering the salad. The man
will then pay for the dinner, because he is obviously making more money since he’s the
man and will drive her home and the cycle will continue.
With women, we are the chocolate eaters, who seem to fall in love with the chocolate
every time we take a bite and the Activia yogurt eaters (helps with digestion!).
http://marketingtowomenonline.typepad.com/blog/what_were_they_thinking/
Advertisements to women can be confusing, because we are supposed to enjoy our
chocolate but also watch our figures and stick to the salads. This can only make women
more insecure than they already were about what to eat. These advertisements make
women look weak, they should be the stay at home mom making chicken dinners for
their families after a long hard day at work. It is crazy to think that women have come so
far just to be advertised as the chef and caretaker for their family. These advertisements
8/28/2019 Food Advertising Feeding Gender Stereotypes – Marissa Madar – Medium
https://medium.com/@MadarMarissaUSF/food-advertising-feeding-gender-stereotypes-82f011a5f09e 4/4
try to brainwash the women into thinking that they are supposed to cook and buy the
grocerices and drive the kids to soccer practice. I think it might be safe to say that these
gender stereotypes are permanent when it comes to advertisements. They will take these
stereotypes and use them to their advantage, to sell the most food and products they can
to each targeted gender no matter how stereotyped their advertisements may be.
“At the end of the day, everybody should probably be eating more fruit and veggies. So
men might need to eat more salads, and women might potentially need a bit more
protein” (Food: The Last Battle of the Sexes?) So next time you hear or see an
advertisement that is telling you what to eat or how to be a “real man”, keep in mind that
they just want your money. You don’t need to be the truck driving steak eater or the stay
at home mom who makes the sandwiches for your family. Either way the company will
make money, so eat what you want when you want it and be yourself. We can make this
happen by ignoring the blatant stereotypes of food advertisement.
Works Cited
Lefroy, Marj. “Food: The Last Battle of the Sexes?” The Sydney Morning Herald. N.p., 31
Oct. 2011. Web. 28 Feb. 2015.
Parkin, Katherine J. Food Is Love: Food Advertising and Gender Roles in Modern America.
Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania, 2006. Print.
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