Hey guys – forget the flowers, chuck the chocolates, and ditch the diamonds – if you want more lovin,’ just get into that kitchen and rattle those pots and pans.

Sounds counter-intuitive to me, too, but I just read a report from the Council on Contemporary Families, and it claims that when we do a better job of sharing the housework with our wives, we get sex more frequently.

Like so many things in life, this is a two-edged sword. More housework might mean more sex for us, and that’s a good thing. The downside is, it also means more housework for us. And, speaking for myself, if I wanted to do more housework (or, let’s be honest, any housework at all), I’d probably be doing it already.

The report also raises another question; more housework may lead to more sex, but does that mean more sex with one’s own spouse? Just, you know, curious; my interest is purely scientific.

The report found that as a group, we American men aren’t pulling our weight when it comes to things like housework and childcare, but we’re better than we used to be (my wife is quick to point out that I could hardly be worse).

Released last week, the report summarized a bunch of recent studies on family dynamics. One found that men's contribution to housework had doubled over the past four decades; another found they tripled the time spent on childcare over that same span.

A psychologist from California (where else?) said, "If a guy does housework, it looks to the woman like he really cares about her.” This reminds me of the old joke about sincerity — once you can fake that, you’ve got it made.

He continued, "If a woman feels stressed out because the house is a mess and the guy's sitting on the couch while she's vacuuming, that's not going to put her in the mood." I've got news for Mister Smarty-Pants Psychologist Dude: I tried a little light dusting and not only did it not get my sweetie in the mood, the sight of me in the French maid’s uniform has very possibly put her off sex (with me, anyway) for a very long time.

This guys-doing-housework idea is obviously getting traction with some people. A fundraiser for the National Organization for Women says her lawyer husband and she both work full-time, and split the housework right down the middle. "He's the one who makes breakfast and folds the laundry," she said. "I'm the one who fixes things around the house."

This is good for her, because she doesn’t have to do all the housework. It’s good for the couple’s three kids, because they have two parents who are fully engaged in making the house a home. And it’s good for the hubby, because his wife’s not on his case to get off his lazy butt, plus he’s getting more of the somethin’-somethin.’ And it could be good for me, too – if the guy’s a size 12 and looking for a French maid’s uniform.