Perhaps the greatest disappointment for feminists is their failure to make men miserable by getting them to do traditionally female roles. Feminists didn’t understand that their misery came from their own miserly hearts, not from the act of caring for others. Not only has becoming more like men made women less happy, but even more maddening is the fact that men aren’t experiencing the misery feminists hoped to transfer along with women’s roles. Men in fact have the audacity to be downright cheerful when caring for others:
Expectations also lie behind the curious finding that performing household chores makes men statistically less likely to become depressed but contributes to depression in women. Taking on housework seems to encourage men to judge themselves as generally likeable, fair-minded dudes, kindly reducing their wives’ load. On the other hand, taking on housework seems to make women feel exploited.
See the full article in the Guardian (Gains in women’s rights haven’t made women happier. Why is that?) for much more feminist gnashing of teeth, with the final conclusion that of course feminism makes women miserable, we never promised otherwise:
Declining happiness among women may seem depressing. But who ever claimed an expanded consciousness brings satisfaction?
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