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By Alice Gibbs
Senior Reporter
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One woman's shock at how her husband completed a simple chore has sparked conversation online.
Thanks to a video shared on TikTok by @debbytos, now with more than 570,000 views, a bag of banana slices has resulted in a discussion on what many are calling "weaponized incompetence."
In the video, which contains some swearing, Debby shows the freezer bags filled with banana slices meant for smoothies. When she asked her husband to cut up some bananas to keep in the freezer for easy smoothie making, she was shocked to find he had left the skins on.
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With a text overlay that read "Like I can't make this s*** up," and a laughing emoji and facepalm emoji, the video quickly became a discussion point for thousands of people in the comments.
Viewer Harry suggested "leave the peels on and put them in his shakes," while Mckooldude said that they thought the faux pas may have been intentional: "He did it on purpose so you wouldn't ask him again," they wrote.
TikTok user Chapo was one of the first to use the phrase "weaponized incompetence," in the comment section—something that many others brought up too.
What Is Weaponized Incompetence?
Weaponized incompetence, sometimes known as strategic incompetence, is a psychological concept in which an individual deliberately performs tasks poorly, or pretends they cannot do things, in order to avoid responsibility and force other people to do the job.
The idea isn't new to social media, with many people taking to the internet to discuss situations where they feel weaponized incompetence has come into play.
In 2022, TikTok user @bonniedoes shared a similar tale of household mishaps, explaining how her husband takes a slow approach to housework and claimed he was unable to do the laundry.
But not completing chores correctly could have some unexpected consequences. According to a 2022 study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, women with partners who shirk household chores may experience lower levels of sexual desire.
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With a sample of 706 participants where a man and woman had been in a relationship with a mean length of around 11 years, researchers developed a measure of household labor, including 119 tasks.
Participants were asked to report how often they completed each task relative to their partner, with response options ranging from, "My partner always does this," to, "I always do this."
They were also asked to rate sexual desire, using an adapted scale. Participants rated their agreement with statements like, "Just thinking about having sex with my partner excites me" on a scale from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 7 (Strongly Agree).
By analyzing the relationship between these two factors, they were able to confirm that women who reported performing a greater proportion of household tasks relative to their partners tended to have lower sexual desire.
In a later update video, Debby shared footage of her husband peeling the individual slices, and added: "Of course I'm gonna have him fix his mistake...lol."
Update 3/14/24, 10:33 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with a new image.
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