More Chores Might Mean More Sex

A new study from sociologists Constance Gager and Scott Yabiku shows that household labor and sexual frequency are not inversely related — a welcome contradiction to the common “more work = less sex” equation. Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, the authors show that certain types of couples have superior time-organization skills across all their major time commitments: the workplace, at home and in bed. In short: “as life gets busier and time gets tighter, a select group of go-getter spouses can successfully balance multiple time commitments. They devote their time to paid work and housework, while maintaining an active sexual life.” One caveat: the researchers measured frequency, not quality. Which, as Ta-Nehisi Coates points out, may not be a caveat at all: “it seems to me that the big issue between married couples ultimately comes down to objective frequency of sex than subjective quality.” [%comments]