Melbourne, Nov 23 Women nag about their husbands' uselessness because it makes them feel more feminine, a new study has revealed.

According to Daily Mail, researchers insist that men's lack of effort on the domestic front could actually be a myth created by their partners, as female breadwinners feel guilty about devoting too much time to their career, and not enough to their role of wife and mother.

By complaining about their husbands' alleged shortcomings, they feel more feminine because they can control the traditionally female role of maintaining the home and family.

"Working women who provide the majority of the household's income continue to articulate themselves as the ones who 'see' household messes and needs as a way to retain claim to an element of traditional female identity," the Courier Mail quoted Dr Rebecca Meisenbach, professor of communication at Missouri University as saying.

The researchers say that nagging about their husbands' inability to do specific household chores, female breadwinners try to make sure that they still fit gender stereotypes of a wife as someone who manages the home and children.

"By directing the housework done by their husbands, they maintain a sense of control over the traditionally feminine sphere of the home," Meisenbach added. (ANI)