Spotted this article on /r/sex_geek and thought it might interest some of our readers:

• When women do more household labor, they see their partner as a dependent and sexual desire dwindles

The original research is here:

• "Gender Inequities in Household Labor Predict Lower Sexual Desire in Women Partnered with Men":

Excerpts:

Perceived partner dependence refers to feeling that a partner is reliant on you for caregiving and performing basic life tasks (that a partner would otherwise be capable of doing). This caregiving overlaps with childcare, such that taking care of household members, including doing their laundry, cooking for them, and cleaning for them, are tasks that we typically perform for children, and they are typically unidirectional (from carer to dependent). We do not expect children to reciprocate these duties or understand their value because they are children. However, when a partner does not reciprocate or value household labor, that relationship with a partner violates norms of reciprocity (Uehara, 1995) and relational interdependence (e.g., Aron & Aron, 1986), and more closely mirrors that of a mother and a child. Hence, “mothering” a partner via the performance of domestic duties may diminish desire (van Anders et al., 2021).

...

In Studies 1 and 2, across eighteen models, the effect of household labor on desire was significantly mediated by perceived partner dependence. Women who reported that they performed a large proportion of household labor relative to their partner were significantly more likely to perceive their partners as dependent on them to keep the household functioning, and this in turn was associated with significantly lower desire for their partner. These findings support the heteronormativity theory, which states that inequities in household labor can lead to a blurring of mother and partner roles, and that feeling like a partner’s mother is not conducive to desire.