Men who avoid chores may be raising sons who bully, an opinion piece warns

Anecdote and argument

It has been reported that during a dinner at a friend’s apartment in Shanghai last year, a middle-school boy refused to clear his plate, saying, “Cleaning is women’s work.” When his mother objected, he reportedly pointed to his father: “Dad never does it either.” That scene anchors an opinion piece on Sixth Tone arguing that fathers’ domestic habits model gendered entitlement for boys — and that entitlement can spill into aggression and bullying at school.

The piece does not present new empirical data, but it links a long-standing social-psychological argument to a contemporary Chinese context: children learn gender roles by imitation. Reportedly, boys who see men shirking household labor internalize norms that women’s work is worth less — and observers worry that such lessons help cultivate dominance and callousness rather than cooperation.

Broader context and why it matters

Why should Western readers care? Gendered divisions of labor are not unique to China, but the dynamics play out against specific social pressures here: rapid urbanization, shifting family structures, and public debates about masculinity and youth behavior. It has been reported that commentators worry these patterns feed school bullying and unequal domestic burdens that undercut women’s labor-force participation — an economic and social concern policymakers are watching closely.

Can changing who washes the dishes change how boys treat others? The opinion piece suggests so, urging clearer models of shared responsibility at home. Whether household routines alone can curb bullying remains contested, but the anecdote offers a vivid reminder: social norms are taught first in the family, and small acts — or omissions — can have outsized consequences.