KnowWhata'Tradwife'Is?LearnAllAbouttheControversialTikTokMarriageTrendHereKnowWhata'Tradwife'Is?LearnAllAbouttheControversialTikTokMarriageTrendHereGiphy GIFGiphy GIF

Know What a 'Tradwife' Is? Learn All About the Controversial TikTok Marriage Trend Here

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Estee Williams is a 25-year-old woman who lives in Virginia and appears to be devoted to dressing and styling herself like the second coming of Marilyn Monroe.
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For those who aren't familiar with the movement, the basic gist is that tradwives are women — mostly white, mostly Christian, mostly Gen Z or younger millennials — who are advocating for a return to a model of marriage that centers on ultra-traditional marriage roles.
For Williams, the tradwife's job is to "make the home his sanctuary."
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Williams has explained that, out of deference for her husband, she never goes to the gym alone, doesn't have male friends, and asks her husband for permission before spending money.
TRADWIVES VALUE TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES OVER PERSONAL FREEDOM.
Other tradwives have posted about their own rules, including that women shouldn't drive or have jobs outside the home.
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Williams told the Today show that asking permission is "a respectful thing" and said, "I am happy to do it and he’s happy to usually grant it."
Although they claim that they find fulfillment in voluntarily giving up their personal autonomy, we can't help but think about how vulnerable these women are.
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TRADWIVES ARE ECONOMICALLY VULNERABLE.
The truth that tradwives don't seem to want to admit is that sometimes marriages don't work out or sometimes they end unexpectedly because of the death of a spouse.
This is especially true for those who dropped out of college like Estee Williams or who have never had a job outside the home. Unfortunately, this is the model the tradwives are setting themselves up for.

As one TikTok user noted in the comments on a tradwife video, "Yeah I did ALL this for my husband. Stay home mom for 12 years. He was cheating on me all over the place, now I’m trying to figure out how 2 pay bills."

THE DESIRE TO LIVE IN THE 1950S IGNORES THE REALITY OF THAT DECADE.
Those years were the peak time for the use of barbiturates (the so-called "mommy's little helper" drug) with millions of women prescribed these drugs to help cope with everyday life.
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When tradwives glorify this decade, they are glorifying a time that was actually pretty terrible for a lot of people.
THE TRADWIFE BACKLASH HAS BEGUN.
As videos about tradwife life have become more popular on TikTok, some users find them inspirational and some find them morally questionable.
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As one TikToker remarked in the comments of one of Estee Williams's videos describing her marriage rules, "I was in a trad relationship and it became controlling and he ended up hitting me, it’s starts off like this."