Should the man be the head of the household?

Hello members of Think Atheist. I don't remember this topic being brought up before so here it is.

The reason I am asking this is because on the Ok Cupid dating website, after browsing quite a number of female profiles - they were able to answer a question and the question is as follows:

"Do you think the man should be the head of the household?"

Well, to my surprise, I have seen quite a few females answer 'Yes' to the question and haven't yet seen a female answer 'No'.

In my opinion, I think it makes no sense to call a man the head of the household and that it is also sexist.

But apparently the females who answered the question wish it were true.

1.) Why do you think this is so? Because females have this innate desire to be submissive? Or is it because females want to hold onto the traditional so called 'values' associated with marriage? Does this somehow go along the lines of the females wanting what they call an 'alpha male'? Or something else entirely?

2.) If you feel you want to answer the question as a 'Yes', then why? If you say 'No' , then why?

3.) What is your definition of 'head of the household'? Does this mean all decisions are made by the male? Does this imply the party who is working full time and earning the money get's to make the decisions?

I look forward to reading the replies!

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Permalink Reply by matt.clerke on January 30, 2014 at 5:43pm

Hello, I have two things to say: first, if you want to hear some interesting answers, you should make an account on Fetlife and ask on there. I guarantee there are women on there who will answer no.

Second, to answer your question. I truly believe in equality between the sexes, this would lead one to think that dual leadership would be my preference. I don't believe in equality of personalities, so whichever person is better suited to lead will probably naturally take charge. Traditionally this has been the male but in the modern world, there's no reason the female couldn't/wouldn't naturally be a better fit for the role.

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Permalink Reply by Unseen on January 30, 2014 at 7:31pm

Marriages should always consist of three (or some other odd number of) partners. That way there can never be a tie and every important decision is arrived at on a democratic basis. No need for a head of household. Whether the marriage consists of 2 men/1 woman, 2 women/1 man, 3 men, 3 women, 2 trannies/1 plushie...(you get my point, and we can add in homosexuality for variety as well) is a matter for the people who ally themselves to settle.

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Permalink Reply by Unseen on January 30, 2014 at 7:34pm

The dominant party will end up being the head of the household. That's simply the way things work among mammals, and we are mammalian.

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Permalink Reply by Royal red on January 30, 2014 at 7:52pm

People are crazy i think the men an the women work together there is no head of anything.

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Permalink Reply by Unseen on January 31, 2014 at 9:09am

Perhaps distressingly, both men and women prefer to be led by the person with the deeper voice:

People tend to prefer to follow the deeper voice:
Cara Tigue from McMaster University in Canada, who conducted the research, said: "We're looking at men's low voice-pitch as a cue to dominance, which is related to leadership.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8888727/Dee...

Women with lower voices tend to do better as leaders:
Researchers at two US universities made recordings of both male and female speakers and then altered the pitch of their subjects' voices. In the study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, listeners "voted" more frequently for the "candidate" with the lower voice.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17355013

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Permalink Reply by CJoe on January 31, 2014 at 11:26am

Sweet! Then I'm totally the head. ;)

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Permalink Reply by Obfuskation on January 31, 2014 at 2:38pm

I don't think there should be a 'should' to it. People of both sexes run the range between passive (or submissive), and aggressive. It should be up to each couple to determine the dynamics of their relationship.

While males trend more toward being the dominant member of the household, I don't see where that it should be condemned or upheld as a standard.