As someone struggling to keep up with Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, I always gave TikTok a wide berth. However, one lazy Sunday afternoon, the demons won, and I went down a ‘tradwife’ rabbit hole that I wish I never had.
For those of you who don’t know, a tradwife is a “woman who prefers to take a traditional or ultra-traditional role in marriage, including beliefs that a woman’s place is in the home.” So, basically what your grandma did without the Cath Kidston apron and coiffed hair.
Seen as a reaction to the boss babe era, which started in the early nineties and centred around women being ambitious, strong-willed, independent, confident, and entrepreneurial, the tradwife is defined as being softer, more feminine, and, well, more malleable. Think Stepford Wife or ultra glamourous Mormon rather than Charlotte Pickles (Angelica’s mother in the Rugrats).
So, what’s the issue with people deciding to stay home, bake their own bread, and make chewing gum from scratch? Well, the truth is that on paper, there is none, but in practice, the outcomes of this new wave of ‘ideal living’ are worrying, to say the least. And as usual, it’s the ‘fairer sex’ who will draw the short end of the stick long term.
Not only do trends like this further make women feel like they have to do even more to be considered good enough by society, but if they follow through with this way of living, it will make them entirely dependent on men.
A woman who has no education or job experience is effectively forced to rely on others for her and her children’s survival, and with so many relationships breaking down, I’m not sure that the tradwife setup is the best way forward.
We already know that the person who holds the purse strings holds the power, and it’s frightening that not more people are worried about this. Not to mention that the cost of living has now become so high that it’s no longer feasible for someone who is physically able to work not to.
In addition to all this, no one is talking about the most ironic part of it all: the content creators encouraging women to stay at home and not make money are the same people making money off that content and helping to keep their families afloat.
Everything has a price; make sure you know what your choices cost before making them.
