[雙語] The Sex-Housework Link

老迷

Housework may seem like the ultimate romance-killer. But guess what?
家務(wù)活或許看起來是終極浪漫殺手。但你猜怎么著？
A new study shows that for husbands and wives alike, the more housework you do, the more often you are likely to have sex with your spouse.
一項(xiàng)新調(diào)查顯示，對丈夫和妻子們而言，家務(wù)活做得越多，與配偶發(fā)生性愛的次數(shù)可能就越頻繁。
Earlier studies have hinted at this connection for men; the sight of a husband mopping the floor or doing dishes sparks affection in the hearts of many wives. But the more-housework-equals-more-sex link for wives, documented in a study of 6,877 married couples published online recently in the Journal of Family Issues, is a surprise.
此前的調(diào)查已經(jīng)暗示了家務(wù)與男士的這種聯(lián)系；看到丈夫俯身拖地或是洗刷碗筷可能會(huì)引發(fā)很多妻子們的心頭愛意。但美國《家庭問題雜志》(Journal of Family Issues)網(wǎng)站近期公布的這項(xiàng)調(diào)查顯示
，主婦們中也存在家務(wù)活越多性愛越頻繁的關(guān)系，這真是令人意外。該雜志對6,877對夫婦進(jìn)行了這項(xiàng)調(diào)查。
Scrubbing the floor is no aphrodisiac, and seeing your spouse doing it usually isn't either. 'My husband loves doing laundry, yet I don't get any thrill out of his doing it,' says Chicago writer Julie Danis. And 'I don't think he thinks it's sexy when I go around gathering the detritus of his daily life.'
擦地板并不會(huì)挑逗情欲，看到你的愛人這么做通常也不會(huì)有催情效果。芝加哥撰稿人茱麗?達(dá)尼斯(Julie Danis)說，我丈夫喜歡洗衣服，但他這么做無法撩動(dòng)我的一絲“性”致。而且，我不覺得他看到我四處收拾他日常生活垃圾的時(shí)候會(huì)覺得我性感。
But for some high achievers who take a 'work hard, play hard' approach to life, researchers say, working hard in one domain produces more energy for others. The study also found a correlation between hours spent on paid work and the frequency of sex in marriage.
但研究人員說，對一些信奉“努力工作，盡情享受”的事業(yè)有成人士來說，在一個(gè)領(lǐng)域的努力工作會(huì)帶來對其他領(lǐng)域的更多精力。調(diào)查還發(fā)現(xiàn)，花在有償工作上的小時(shí)數(shù)和婚內(nèi)性愛的頻率之間存在著關(guān)聯(lián)。
'Rather than compromise their sex life' because of time demands at work or at home, 'this group of go-getters seems to make sex a priority,' says Constance Gager, lead researcher and an assistant professor of family and child studies at Montclair State University, Montclair, N.J. The study doesn't measure what proportion of spouses fall into this group, but she believes 'they are on the leading edge of couples we expect to see more of in the future.'
新澤西州蒙特克萊爾州立大學(xué)(Montclair State University)的家庭和兒童研究首席研究員、助理教授康斯坦斯?加杰(Constance Gager)說，這群實(shí)干家似乎并沒有因?yàn)楣ぷ骱图彝サ臅r(shí)間需要而在性生活上有所犧牲，他們反而將性視為一項(xiàng)頭等大事。調(diào)查并沒有統(tǒng)計(jì)有多少夫婦屬于這個(gè)群體；但加杰認(rèn)為，他們是處于領(lǐng)先地位的人，我們預(yù)計(jì)未來會(huì)看到更多這樣的夫婦。
Many husbands and wives I interviewed offered an additional explanation -- that housework may be a proxy for a general willingness to invest in shared interests, a symbol of commitment to home and hearth. Perhaps 'working on the same task . . . makes the couple remember why they married -- to be on the same team, to build a life,' Ms. Danis says.
我采訪過的很多丈夫和妻子給出了又一個(gè)解釋──做家務(wù)可能代表著一種投資共同利益的意愿，是一種對家和家人的奉獻(xiàn)象征。達(dá)尼斯說，或許做同一件事會(huì)讓兩口子回想起當(dāng)初為什么結(jié)婚──風(fēng)雨同舟，共創(chuàng)生活。

Tom Doran, a Plymouth, Mich., engineer, says doing housework 'promotes friendship and intimacy' for him and his wife, an executive assistant. And John Rogitz, a San Diego attorney who has been married for 30 years, says, 'If you're both around doing housework, that also means you are alone together, and in a place where both are relaxed and comfortable.' He adds, 'It's pretty hard to have sex when you're not together in a place that permits it.'
湯姆?多蘭(Tom Doran)是密歇根州普利茅斯的一名工程師。他說，做家務(wù)能夠增進(jìn)他和妻子的友情和親密感。他妻子是一名行政助理。約翰?羅吉斯(John Rogitz)是美國圣地亞哥一名結(jié)婚30年的律師。他說，如果夫婦倆一起做家務(wù)，這也意味著你們單獨(dú)相處，呆在一個(gè)兩人都感到放松舒適的地方。他補(bǔ)充說，當(dāng)你們呆的地方條件不允許時(shí)，那要發(fā)生性愛會(huì)非常困難。
Another husband, a St. Paul, Minn., accountant who describes himself as happily married for 20 years, says housework reflects a deeper bond. Although he does plenty of housework, 'to me it's not the dishes, laundry, vacuuming (or Viagra) that matters,' he writes. Sharing chores reflects a 'willingness to hold my wife's needs and wants on a par with my own. For us, the key to intimacy is the sharing and minimization of selfishness.' His wife, a nurse, agrees, saying that 'doing the household chores is certainly part of the sharing.'
另一位來自明尼蘇達(dá)州圣保羅的會(huì)計(jì)師說他自己結(jié)婚20年來一直很快樂。他說，做家務(wù)反映了兩人更深的關(guān)系。他在信中說，雖然他做了大量的家務(wù)活，但對他來說，重要的并不是洗碗、洗衣、用吸塵器清掃，也不是偉哥藥片。他說，分擔(dān)家務(wù)事反映了我愿意將妻子的需求和想法視為我自己的。對我們來說，保持親密的關(guān)鍵就是分享，并將自私降到最低。他的妻子是一名護(hù)士，對此表示認(rèn)同；她說，做家務(wù)活肯定是分享的一部分。
It's also possible that one reward of doing chores -- a serene, well-tended home -- can be conducive to intimacy. Tracy Evans, New York, says she and her husband 'definitely can relax better if the house is clean,' she says -- to a point.
也有可能，做家務(wù)的一個(gè)回報(bào)──一個(gè)靜謐整潔的家──有益于親熱。來自紐約的翠西?伊文斯(Tracy Evans)說，如果家里整潔，自己和丈夫肯定會(huì)更加放松。她說到點(diǎn)上了。
But plunging too deeply into chores also can have the opposite effect, she says, if it is linked to 'this perfectionistic type of thing where you want to get everything done' -- for example, deciding you can't rest until your entire spice rack is in alphabetical order. 'Before you know it, it's one in the morning and you haven't spent any time with your spouse,' Ms. Evans says. Researchers didn't explore whether housework reached a point of diminishing returns -- where time on chores expanded so much that it choked off intimacy.
但她說，過度置身于家務(wù)活也會(huì)適得其反，如果這與希望事事到位的完美主義心理聯(lián)系起來的話──比方說，決定非要按照字母順序排列好調(diào)味品架子之后才能休息。伊文斯說，可能一個(gè)上午一眨眼功夫就在忙碌中過去了，你都沒有花時(shí)間陪伴愛人。研究人員沒有研究是否做家務(wù)到了某個(gè)臨界點(diǎn)之后就會(huì)回報(bào)遞減，花在家務(wù)上的時(shí)間太多是否就會(huì)妨礙夫妻親熱。