of couse, how could you let a man handle the chores and his work at the same time?

Yes they should still apply to a degree. Marriage by committee is a nightmare, I did it for 20 years. Hours, days and weeks of silent treatments... Screaming matches where one or both say something they don't really mean... I believe that one partner must have the authority (freely given by the other) to say "that's enough, we'll tak about it when cooler heads prevail..." and that decision needs to be respected. No, and it's not always the man who should be the Alpha partner. As far as household and family duites they should be split and given to the partner that can best handle them. I would never presume to make a decision of design, I lack the color coordination gene. I lack the financial gene, my partner must have final say on matters of money. I do have the technical gene, I must have final say on matters of binary code, hydrocarbon consumption, screwdrivers and hammers. Family wise, I lack the nurture gene, yet in crisis or moments of fear I can be a reliable pillar of support. I can cook but that is often a mistake except for hollidays, I do an awesome turkey feast. So, IMHO the best marital relationship is where both share duties and defer to the other's best capabillites.

It's closer to equal, but women still have more of the housework than men do. And it's enough of a difference to say "no".

Well, men generally do housework, too. Shoveling snow, mowing the lawn, perfecting a deck, and raking leaves, si? Anyway, I do think that the gender roles still exist to some degree. I don't really see anything wrong with them, though, as long as both the man and woman share in the housework.

I don't think they're equal in all cases but I think they could be if the situation called for it and the people concerned set their mind to achieving a positive result :)

I'm not a sterotype, I think men are better at taking care of the house, cooking and rasing children

not in my house it's not. My gf and I both work full-time and both share the chores. We split up the work by who can do what better or who likes on echore over another, I cook, she does dishes, I clean one room she cleans another. Some things I think have to be handed over to one partner or the other like finances, it gets messy when both try to handle it, so she does finances and I play handyman and do the house and car repairs, maintenance etc. We have a pretty good system worked out after 10 years.

I think its more a matter of mutual respect and working together to determine who is best suited to do what, regardless of what it is. If there isnt genuine love, appreciation and respect, household roles are not your biggest problem.

My boyfriend and i have came to the agreement he cooks i clean etc. We pretty much split everything 50/50. && both of us work so...We dont really have the stereotypical roles. plus im a full beliver in female rights and if a woman wants to stay at home then great but she should always have the option of work if wanted to.

sometimes yes but not really anymore more women out workin kids at school or minders.

I think it depends on the relationship. My partner and I have set certain tasks that each one completes. I think that it really does depend on what your comfortable with in the relationship. I don't mind doing my fair share of "womans work" but It certainly doesn't stop me from taking part in things that aren't classified as such. (I had to change my mans tire because he didn't know how) So all in all it depends on your relationship

Not in my house! My hubby takes out the trash and mows the lawn. The rest of the domestic tasks are all me. Of course he helps out with the baby sometimes, but I usually end up laughing and doing it myself. Big hands + small clothes = comedy.

They shouldn't apply, but they still do.

Stereotypical, not with us! Equal- yes, absolutely. However equal didn't mean that we both did half the dishes, half the lawn mowing, etc. Equal meant that we each did about half of whatever it was that needed to be done. I didn't normally pay the bills, but I did on occasion. He didn't normally file the household paperwork and put receipts in our spreadsheet, but he did on occasion. I couldn't mow the lawn or do the vacuuming or dusting due to my asthma and allergies. He wasn't good at detail cleaning or cleaning up after himself after cooking. Equal means equitable.