In the context of the domestic division of labour, what is the overall implication of Bouton's argument?

• A. Childcare is primarily managed by external services.
• B. Societal expectations require men to do more housework than women.
• C. The traditional division, with women bearing the main childcare burden, persists.
• D. Gender roles have completely disappeared in families.

Answer: (C)

Bouton's argument stresses that gendered expectations shape how domestic tasks are divided, and that the caregiving burden tends to stay with women even as society changes. The key idea is that the traditional pattern—women taking the main responsibility for childcare and much of the housework—persists because normative norms and structural factors keep this arrangement in place. This means changes in work outside the home or public policies don’t automatically equalize how chores and childcare are shared at home; unequal expectations endure, reinforcing gender inequality domestically and beyond. It’s not about outsourcing childcare to external services, nor about men doing more housework than women, and it certainly isn’t about gender roles disappearing. So the overall implication is that the traditional division persists, with women bearing the main childcare burden.