MASS COMMUNICATION & SOCIETY, 2006, 9(2), 215–238 Working Hard or Hardly Working? Gender, Humor, and the Performance of Domestic Chores in Television Commercials Erica Scharrer, D. Daniel Kim, Ke-Ming Lin, and Zixu Liu Department of Communication University of Massachusetts Amherst This content analysis updates the literature regarding gender and the depiction of housework in television commercials by exploring not just the distribution of chores but also the success or failure of chore performance. A sample of 477 commercials featuring domestic chores that aired in a week of primetime television programming on all of the broadcast networks was analyzed. Among the key findings: Male char- acters’ performance of chores was often humorously inept as measured by negative responses from others, lack of success, and unsatisfactory outcomes. These depic- tions have important implications for the learning of gender roles from television exposure. The division of labor within the home between men and women is one of the primary ways to study gender roles. Determining who does what in terms of keep- ing up the house and yard and taking care of children reveals how gender roles are negotiated and enacted within a space shared by males and females. Television is one source of socialization into gender role attitudes and behavior. Through observation of characters in programs and commercials, individuals can learn norms and expectations regarding “appropriate” and “inappropriate” roles within the home for men and women. Television commercials provide frequent models of the performance of housework and other tasks and responsibilities in and around the home. Arguably, the traditional depiction of domestic chores in commercials features a woman Correspondence should be addressed to Erica Scharrer, 309 Machmer Hall, Department of Communication, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003. E-mail: scharrer@comm. umass.edu