The Atlantic

Letters: Who Handles The Dishes?

Readers consider whether doing dishes is, in fact, the worst.
Source: Lucy Nicholson / Reuters

Doing Dishes Is the Worst

Last week, Caroline Kitchener wrote about a new report that examines the strain dishwashing can have on heterosexual relationships.


I always love reading , but today I take issue with some of the wording in your article “Doing Dishes Is the Worst.” You say (both in the article and in the Facebook status promoting the article), “Women who wash the vast majority of the dishes themselves report more relationship conflict, less relationship satisfaction, and even worse sex, than women with partners who ” (emphasis added). While your article points out that women traditionally are the ones doing dishes, using phrases like “partners who help” reinforces the idea that women explains it perfectly.

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