Men prefer housewives, women want retrosexual husband: Study

London, Aug 28 (UNI) Despite all the talks of a progressive society where both the partners share equal responsibility, men and women are still very conventional when it comes to choosing a spouse.

According to new research published today, most men prefer a traditional wife and women are often only too happy to oblige.

The study claimed men want their wives to put family and home before their careers while most women desire a 'retrosexual' husband, meaning they were more hunter gatherer than a 'metrosexual' stay-at-home father.

More than 1,500 adults were asked about the attributes that they 'most valued' in a spouse or partner.

At the top of the men's list was 'taking care of the home', followed by cooking, cleaning and great parenting.

Only 16 per cent said they valued 'financial stability' in a woman, which means most men put domestic bliss above a wife who calls the shots in the boardroom.

The research from the Yorkshire Building Society found many women were making equally conventional choices.

Nearly 40 per cent said 'financial stability' was one of the most important qualities in their husband and they ranked gardening as more important than an ability to cook or clean.

Tanya Jackson, corporate affairs manager at the building society, said, ''A lot of women used to think they wanted a metrosexual man.

But then they realised they were fed up with a man who spent longer in the bathroom than they did.'' ''Many women now feel they actually want a hunter-gatherer and they will look after their man in return,'' the Daily Mail quoted her as saying.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics bear out the claims. More than 2.1 million women said they were not working because they were 'looking after their family or home'.

Only 193,000 men gave the same answer, a figure which has fallen by six per cent over the past year, it added.

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