I get a little bit frustrated at the concept of emotional labor. It suggests that relationships between men and women are completely one sided.

Aside from the expectation that certain types of jobs are “man jobs” which we never focus on when additional labor in the home is talked about. There is the amount of time I have spent listening patiently to my ex-wife while she vents about some work bullshit or some family bullshit, being careful not to say too much incase it causes a argument.

Sit there and listen and don’t interrupt, but don’t be quiet because it looks like your not engaged. Do not suggest a solution because that’s not what she wants, but if you don’t offer input then you don’t care. It’s a fucking tightrope. And often she was looking for a fight because that’s a way of her venting her stress.

Find a more productive stress coping mechanism like going for a run (doesn’t have time for that but has time to go on about the same thing that’s pissing her off for two straight hours).

Why does that type of emotional labor never get mentioned. The “your my emotional punching bag” labor which is pretty toxic but just seems like another thing that guys should do, no questions asked.