If you clear away the botox and the cat fights, the women from The Real Housewives of New York City are trying to live their best love lives, just like the rest of us.

The "housewife" title's a misnomer, as only three—Ramona, Jill and Alex—are actually married. And Suzy Homemaker-style housewives they are not. But, Season Two of the show's been aflurry with relationship activity: the Countess divorcing, Bethenny on the prowl and every "wife" tripping over herself for the chance to share dating tips.

Here, we've created a Real Housewives report card with grades based on their own relationships and/or the … Read More

You're probably going to get really sick of this but, I was watching How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) the other night and it was enter-wait for it-taining once again. This episode (Episode 84, "Murtaugh," Season 4) centered around a list called the Murtaugh List (after Roger Murtaugh, played by Danny Glover, one half of the Lethal Weapon's crime-fighting team). The list was named after Murtaugh's catchphrase, "I'm too old for this sh*t," and was a list of things that the characters were too old to do. I thought the list was a little silly, I've used a beer … Read More

That man who expects his wife to stay home tending to the pot roast and the toddlers? He's raking in more dough than you.

In the most aggravating news of the week, the BBC reports men who believe a woman's place is in the home, and that women who work cause higher rates of juvenile delinquency, earn an average of $8,500 a year more. (That's, like, three cruises to the Bahamas.)

According to the Journal of Applied Psychology, in 1979 researchers at the University of Florida asked over 12,000 men and women between the ages of … Read More

Sex columnist Dan Savage tackles a spankophile's sticky wicket in his Savage Love column this week: a young woman wants her boyfriend to both spank and respect her.

She writes:

"I'm a female college student and a feminist. I expect equal pay, equal treatment, and fairness when it comes to chores at home. But I have fantasies of domestic discipline. Some days, I'd like to rush home and clean the apartment and make dinner for my boyfriend wearing only an apron. Then I'd appreciate it if he'd find some excuse--something I did wrong--to spank me until I cry before having … Read More

Meet the "Time Warp Wives" -- three British gals who live like it's 1930, 1940 and 1950.

I want those clothes! But not that life.

The Daily Mail interviewed Joanne, age 35, who owns some fabulous 1950s get-ups -- but she also doesn't leave the house without lipstick on and won't put gas in the car because it's "so unladylike." She's happy in her apron, stirring up homemade jam and baking cakes for her husband Kevin in their 1950s-style kitchen. Joanne attributes their uber-retro lifestyle to disgust at high-speed society:

"It may sound silly, … Read More

According to CNN, a new breed of housewife is emerging: one who's jobless, childless and home by choice.

The stay-at-home wives interviewed said a reduced amount of stress and an increased amount of quality time with their spouses were both the catalysts and benefits of quitting their careers. And for them, kids are either out of the question or on a distant horizon.

A Johns Hopkins psychotherapist labeled these stay-at-home wives as "status symbols," adding that "especially with the recent economic pressures, a stay-at-home spouse is often an extreme and visible luxury." One that is possibly envied by … Read More

Portfolio magazine (think Vanity Fair meets Forbes) ran an article last week about the overabundance of housewives in New York City. It must have seemed like a bit of a lark when Bravo launched a spin-off of The Real Housewives Of Orange County in NYC. It's New York, everyone's on the grind for every dime, cousin. Right? According to the 2000 census, only 49% of married, white women with a high school education (HSEMWW) had gainful employment. And women with and without children have almost identical figures (percentages of employment, women without children haven't been bent out of … Read More

The results of a 40-year-long study on housework were recently released from the University of Michigan. Can you guess who does more? No big surprise here: Women do, in fact, know the broom, mop, and feather duster more intimately than their husbands, but the clincher is post-nuptials.

On average, single women did about 12 hours of housework a week, while married women did about 20. Women with three or more kids: roughly 28 hours a week. That’s not raising the kids—that’s simply cleaning up after them. Ack!

It has improved, though. The study … Read More

Here I was, exactly where I would have never guessed I'd be: standing in the kitchen, wrapped in an apron, my feet and back aching. I’d been preparing dinner for my husband for the past several hours, and I was…blissful.

That realization is what nearly knocked me off of my feet. The daughter of a feminist father, I grew up believing that slaving over a hot stove to prepare a meal for one's family was as backward as Chinese foot binding. Yet here I stood.

I grew up, got married, and settled into cohabitating with my new husband. I soon wanted warm … Read More