Potential remedies, in the authors’ opinion:
- Challenge gendered norms: Reject the notion that males must provide for the family’s needs while women must provide for the children or that some jobs or duties are more appropriate for men than for women. When it comes to what has to be done to make sure the house and relationship function well, this will remove any stress or discomfort. Otherwise, neither husbands nor wives will be content acting in gender-atypical roles and may instead choose for divorce, claim the authors.
- Obtain assistance with childcare
- Become specialists: Couples can encourage independence by determining that one spouse “specializes” in a certain function while the other seeks their own area of competence, rather than just “sharing” domestic duties.
- Obtain meta-knowledge: Try to “look at each person’s desires from a more detached standpoint” if you want to let your partner see your relationship pleasure from a different perspective. According to the authors, this may be especially beneficial for those who take relationship issues (such as preference mismatches) too personally and interpret them as indicators of their own failings.
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