Why Husbands Are (or Should be) Supportive of their Wives' Gardening Interests: "When She is Happy, He Is."

Here's something to think about. Megan Basham in the article "Who Wears the Pants" (October 10th) in The Wall Street Journal writes:

"In the past few years, stay-at-home moms have come under fire from some of feminism's most hard-line mouthpieces. These mothers have been told that they're letting down the sisterhood, endangering the economy and -- most important -- undermining their own position. By failing to bring in at least half the family income, it is claimed, they have rendered themselves powerless in their own homes...

But as it turns out, wives don't need income to wield power in their marriages. And mothers don't have much reason to fear losing power if they're not bringing home an equal share of the bacon. A Pew Research Center study released a couple of weeks ago found that when it comes to decision making in the home, wives in a majority of cases either rule the roost or share power equally with their husbands, regardless of how much money the women earn...

To be fair, many of the scholarly studies' conclusions include a 'final say' contingency -- many husbands claim that they have veto power when they feel very strongly about an issue. But consumer research shows that with the exception of what car to buy and when to buy it, men rarely claim strong enough feelings to override their wives...

The general consensus of sociologists is that, whereas a woman's marital satisfaction is dependent on a combination of economic, emotional and psychological realities, a man's marital satisfaction is most determined by one factor: how happy his wife is. When she is happy, he is (emphasis added). Working within this framework, most husbands are unwilling to dig in their heels on any issue unless they have a tremendous incentive to do so..."