Study shows women initiate sex when their partners do so

A new study found that women are more likely to initiate sex when their partners are willing to split household chores evenly.

The study, published in the Journal of Sex Research and conducted by researchers at Swinburne University of Technology, surveyed 299 Australian women between the ages of 18 and 39 and compared their relationship characteristics to sexual desire. The questions were designed to measure how balanced respondents felt about their relationship and how satisfied they were with their sex life.

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As expected, the study found that “women in equal relationships (in terms of housework and psychological distress) are more satisfied with their relationships and, in turn, experience more sexual desire than women in unequal relationships,” the researchers said.

A closer look at the study showed that sharing housework increased women’s dyadic sexual desire, which is desire related to emotional and physical closeness with other people.

This isn’t the first study to find a link between having more sex and sharing housework. A study published in 2016 found that heterosexual couples who were equal were happier overall, had better connection, and had more sex.

“Sharing the burden is beneficial. Couples who have a more balanced division of labor appear to be happier, and this is reflected in a number of ways, only one of which is sex,” said Sharon Sassler, study co-author. “It’s kind of a no-brainer. When you contribute more, one partner appreciates what the other partner is doing.”

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The study showed that if a partner did all the housework, they were less likely to want to have sex, whether they were men or women. “It’s a total gender reversal, and neither men nor women seem happy with it,” Sassler said.