Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Time spent by sex

I received this, oddly enough, just as I was in the midst of my preparations for International Women's Day:
Thought this might be of interest as you prepare articles in advance of International Women’s Day on 8 March: new OECD data comparing how people use their time that highlights striking differences between countries and particularly between men and women.

Women are slowly closing the gap with men as more have careers. But there is still a huge gender gap in unpaid work, clearly showing that men are still struggling to lift much more than a finger from time to time in some countries: Mexican women spend the most time doing unpaid work, such as housework or shopping, at 373 minutes a day, with Australia next at 311 minutes. This compares to their menfolk: Mexican men who spend an average of 113 minutes on unpaid work and Japanese men who spend only 62 minutes, the least of all. In Europe, Turkish women spend the most time, at 377 minutes, more than double the time spent by Norwegian men (180) who are the most helpful males in Europe and elsewhere.

When it comes to time spent on personal care, including eating and sleeping, the gap between the sexes is much smaller, and it’s clearly more important in Southern Europe. France and Italy are the personal care champions: French women spend the most, at 755, well ahead of Italian women who are second at 697. Their men spend almost as much time – with French males ahead at 738 vs 697 for the Italians.

The Northern Europeans are the queens of leisure: with women in Norway spending more time relaxing in front of the TV or entertaining friends than anyone else (367 minutes a day), followed by the UK (339). In virtually every country, men are able to fit in valuable extra minutes of leisure each day while women spend more time doing unpaid housework.
Two things occur to me as I finish off the final touches on the pink frosted cupcakes sculpted to resemble Margaret Sanger, Mata Hari, and Nancy Pelosi. One, since when is shopping considered "unpaid work". Two, I notice that "the most helpful males", in Norway, are paired with the women who spend the most time relaxing in front of the TV.

This is not a coincidence. But let this be a lesson to you men: if you don't spend more time on choreplay, your woman will be less inclined to have sex with you sit around and watch television. Studies show!

23 comments:

Stg58/Animal Mother said...

My grandfather told me never to trust a man who spends more than five minutes in front of the mirror.

Natalie said...

When you have a five month old doing the grocery shopping alone and stopping to spend half an hour with an iced coffee and a novel practically counts as mother's day out :) Of course that means your husband is probably watching the baby, so does that could as time spent in "unpaid work" or "awesome Daddy/minion time?" This is important. We don't want to throw off the stats.

Natalie said...

"Does that count." Yeesh.

Trust said...

Shopping as unpaid work. Bah. His many hours does her husband work to cover the tab.

Cooking and cleaning unpaid work. Bah. He buys the food, and he pays the mortgagte for a house she will own should she leave to find herself (usually under an alpha).

Sex as unpaid chore. Believe me, prostitutes are cheaper than wives. And ex wives.

These studies are done by wimpy men hoping their wives will give'em some nookie. Or women hoping to extract beta bux without marriage to obstruct their alpha fux.

Stg58/Animal Mother said...

It's all utter bullshit. The only time I do any house work is when my wife is sick. She's been fighting a bad sinus infection then a case of salmonella.

Marissa said...

I don't understand the relevance of these statistics without the context of paid minutes worked each day by men and women...Mexico, a place where most people recognize the sexual dimorphism of the human species, is where many women stay home and take care of the kids while the man goes out and earns the money. I fail to see how "homemaker" or "mother" is unpaid, as the woman works and the man pays her with shelter, food, clothing, etc (or he gives her money so she can go buy those things).

Also, how does anyone have 6 hours a day to spend entertaining friends or watching TV? Do they not have jobs in Norway? What about France and Italy spending 700-something minutes on personal care? Please tell me the second and third paragraphs switched to "minutes per week".

Aquinas Dad said...

Marissa nailed it; this article is actually an attempt to frame 'woman who is in charge of her own home caring for her own family' as 'oppressed' in contrast to 'woman who works for a boss to earn a check to pay someone to care for her home and family' as 'empowered'.
'Unpaid work' being 'bad' only makes sense if your only judge of value is money.

Robert said...

Yeah. some of those statistics can't possibly be daily minutes. And how come we don't look at the benefit women get from the work women do? They sleep in that bed and eat those meals too. They directly see the benefit of everything they do. And even in equality-world half of the children's chores benefit the mothers. And they don't have a boss compelling them to do a good job. Just a beta boy. If they go on strike, they're still going to be eating and sleeping. And what is the monetary value of all that good, good loving they get from their husband??

Anonymous said...

...with French males ahead at 738 vs 697 for the Italians.

But none of it spent in the shower.

Anonymous said...

Data worthless and methodology is suspect.

"unpaid work is defined as something in which a 3rd party could be paid to do, such as walking a dog, gardening, child care, cooking, mowing the lawn etc.

"some surveys are done to avoid certain times of year to preclude seasonal bias

"different countries surveys were taken in different years and different times during economic cycle

"time spent on travel is consider derivative and is lumped into the category its associated with (why? you could pay somebody to drive you around it should be classified as unpaid work)

"Paid work or study includes - time doing paid work, breaks at the work place, looking for paid work, time in education and homework (but apparently doesn't seem to include time enhancing ones own skills independently which would fall under leisure I guess).

Anonymous said...

It could also mean that men are more efficient when it comes to getting things done.

Laguna Beach Fogey said...

Their men spend almost as much time [on personal care, including eating and sleeping] – with French males ahead at 738 vs 697 for the Italians.

Clearly they know how to live. The septics would do well to take a page out of their book.

Trust said...

" It could also mean that men are more efficient when it comes to getting things done."

Men are less inclined to waste time on insignificant detail.

bearspaw said...

Alas I will not be joining in the festivities surrounding IWD. With malice aforethought I decided to go fishing instead.

swiftfoxmark2 said...

Stay-at-home moms/wives are considered "unpaid" because there is this assumption that by not having a career, these women are in fact denying production to society. In other words, the feminist elite are under the mistaken notion that women can do anything a man can do and earn the same.

Also, your children don't belong to you.

Bob said...

Those poor, poor women spending all that time shopping for makeup etc while the man is out ALL F***ING DAY doing many more hours in PAID work. With much harsher conditions, responsibilities, mental and physical skills needed.

I mean really, shopping? It takes me bugger all time to whizz round the shop for some food, all the rest of the time is spent on bollocks.

Res Ipsa said...

I think "unpaid work" as a self defined concept is nonsense. Shopping as "unpaid work" is even more so. Today is shopping day at our house. Mrs Ipsa will spend between 2.5 and 3 hrs doing whatever it is she does to make the groceries appear in the fridge. Having done the shopping before, I can attest it takes me about 1.25 hrs including the drive time to go to town. If she is "working" she isn't very efficient at it. Does my watching the kids for that time count as work too? By watching the kids I mean letting them play outside and maybe watch some TV. I doubt any dad counts time spent with the kids, putting dishes in the dish washer, mowing the law, changing the oil, shoveling the driveway etc, as "unpaid work".

Bob Loblaw said...

As always the devil is in the details. Shopping for this week's groceries is unpaid work. Shopping for a status symbol bag is entertainment.

mmaier2112 said...

@Vox, are Italian men foppish?

Feather Blade said...

"I fail to see how "homemaker" or "mother" is unpaid, "

The women don't get issued a W-2 for it, and the products of the labor can't be taxed.

Revelation Means Hope said...

Personal care includes sleeping and eating. 750 minutes per day just means that the Italian and French spend a lot of time sleeping, and even more in taking long, leisurely meals.

I find it hard to fault them for doing that, especially if that time also includes time at the gym.

Akulkis said...

Feather Blade.. you hit the nail on the head.

The left would rather that instead of me cleaning my house and mowing my lawn, and you doing the same for yours, that instead, I pay you $50 to mow my lawn and you pay me $50 to clean your house, so that now there is $100 of taxable income, even though the end results are the same -- neither of us has any more or less free time, and our houses and lawns are maintained to the same level.

Anonymous said...

Women have a higher standard of cleanliness than men on aggregate, and that higher standard requires more time and effort to maintain.

I would wager dollars to doughnuts that single women, unprompted by any domestic partner, spend more time cleaning than single men.

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