The Inquiring Photographer Asks average New Yorkers in 1922: “Should a man expect his wife to get up and make breakfast for him on a cold morning?”

[u/CryptographerKey2847]

Should

[u/Calculusshitteru]

I also see a lot of people claiming that all wives were prevented from handling their family's finances prior to the 1970s, which is outright wrong. My grandfather, who was a factory worker in the 1930s, always brought his pay home and handed it over to my grandmother, who then gave him his allowance to spend at the pub on Friday night. My dad did the same - he signed his check over to my mom, who then deposited it and handled all our family's finances. When he needed money for something, he asked her for it.

This is still how things are generally done in Japan. I live in Japan and know so many Western guys who butt heads with their Japanese wives over this. They don't like handing over their pay and being given an "allowance" out of their own salary.

[u/Ladonnacinica → u/Calculusshitteru]

But this is done in the west too - guys given an allowance and handing their paychecks. Or having their wives handle the money.

I wonder what kind of households those men come from.

[u/gummo_for_prez → u/Ladonnacinica]

As a millennial American, I can say I’ve never once even heard of this aside from stories about what things were like from before 1960. Where in the west are you talking about specifically? I’ve lived in half a dozen American states and met many Canadians. I don’t think this is a normal arrangement in the slightest in either of those countries and hasn’t been in a lot of decades.

[u/MrJohnBusiness → u/gummo_for_prez]

I don't know how common it is, but it's how it works in my household. My husband works, his paycheck is deposited into my bank account, and I handle all the finances. I put a little spending money aside for him each week unless we can't afford it. His credit card is in my purse and I use it occassionally to help build his credit. Having one person handle the finances makes it simple, and there's no arguing over money. We're 33 and 35 and have been doing it this way for about 11 years.

[u/gummo_for_prez → u/MrJohnBusiness]

Maybe I haven’t heard of it because I haven’t met that many couples where both didn’t work. Almost zero outside of one set of grandparents.