Final answer:
Housework is no longer the great equalizer of women due to the increase of married women in the labor force and the persistent imbalance in sharing domestic responsibilities. Societal shifts, economic necessities, and the undervaluation of unpaid domestic labor have changed the dynamics of gender roles within the household.
Step-by-step explanation:
Housework has historically been considered the great equalizer of women due to societal expectations that women, regardless of other roles or jobs they might have, would take on the majority of domestic chores. However, this is no longer the case for various reasons.
In some cultures, housework is viewed as a feminine trait, and for men to partake in it is seen as a sign of weakness. Yet, the economic reality for many American families made it unfeasible for women to be confined solely to the home. By the early 1980s, most married women were working both inside and outside the house. The emergence of the term the 'second shift' by sociologists highlighted that even when women worked equivalent hours in the labor force, domestic responsibilities were still not being equally shared with their husbands.
Furthermore, the unpaid labor of housewives, such as household chores, caring for children and other family members, and cooking, is often undervalued in capitalist market systems. This, coupled with the gender pay gap, underscores the inequality women face, even with the greater share of domestic responsibilities falling onto U.S. men over time. The changing composition of American households, with more women in the labor force and the trend of high earners marrying each other, leads to an increase in dual-income households but does not necessarily equate to a more equitable distribution of housework.
In conclusion, as married women's labor force participation has increased and as societal norms slowly shift, housework is no longer viewed as the equalizer of women it once was, partly because it no longer ties all women to the home and partly because this labor is still often performed disproportionately by women despite their presence in the labor market.