Abstract
Men regarded marriage as spaces where primary partners eventually stopped performing relational management, grew impossible to please, nagged constantly, and oversaw their household labor without offering praise. The men spoke of expectations that their primary partners ask about their emotional state rather than initiating a conversation about their sadness themselves. In fact, they believed they lacked the autonomy to voice their feelings without prompting and probing from their romantic partner. The men clearly saw household labor as the work of their partners, thus any chore they completed became “help” to their wife. This framework positions their primary partner as “in charge” at home, yet men resented being told what to do. This set up a “you versus me” dynamic which served neither party.
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Walker, A.M. (2020). “Men Need Their Egos Pumped up Regularly”: Primary Partnerships Sow the Seeds of Men’s Doubt. In: Chasing Masculinity. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49818-4_3
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