HAIFA
— Men washing
dishes? Women fixing the leaky faucet? The longer a
couple is married, the more likely they are to undergo a reversal of
traditional roles in their home, according to research done at the University of Haifa
.
"In the past, men tended to think of domestic
responsibilities such as cleaning, cooking, and child-rearing as belonging
to women. Today, however, these chores are perceived more and
more as responsibilities of the man, and more men are fulfilling these
roles," according to Omer Sagi of the University's School of Social
Work. Simultaneously, women in couples, over the long-term, will have
more masculine characteristics than in the earlier stages of marriage. These
"masculine" characteristics are those associated with
decision-making, being active and driven.
His research found that among long-term couples, the men
tended to have more "feminine" characteristics, such as nurturing,
warmth and emotional expression, than they did when they were younger. The
study included 128 married couples who had been married for 45 or more
years.
Schwab is an intern in the external relations department of
the University of Haifa