Why I may never get married: I hate doing dishes

It’s official: Women do more housework than men. Shocking, I know.

Married men worldwide report doing less housework than unmarried cohabiting men, according to an international study of 17,636 men and women in 28 countries. Findings are published in the September issue of the Journal of Family Issues.
In the study by researchers at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and North Carolina State University in Raleigh, cohabiting men report doing more housework than married men, and cohabiting women report doing less housework than married women, although cohabiting men still do less than cohabiting women.

Looks like shacking up is in my future! I have to say, it was no surprise to find out that women worldwide do the bulk of domestic labor. But I was somewhat taken aback by the fact that married couples have a more inequitable division of chores than those who live together.

Shannon Davis, an assistant professor of sociology at George Mason and the study’s lead author, says the institution of marriage seems to have an effect on couples that traditionalizes their behavior, even if they view men and women as equals.
“We haven’t had such a widespread and systematic international study, but all the separate studies I have read have shown this,” [Stephanie Coontz, author of the 2005 book Marriage: A History,] says. “The very word ‘marriage’ is so deeply associated with the idea that it involves men having to do less housework. Even the most untraditional couple will fall into it after marriage, unless they are very conscious of it. They judge themselves against this centuries-old standard of what a wife does, which they didn’t have to do when they were just living together.”

Does anyone else find that terrifying? I’m really curious about this. Any married gals who have had this experience want to weigh in?