[Puffer Fish]

The whole "Trad wife" thing (trend of young women going back to traditional female roles) seems to have really struck a nerve with the progressive Left, because Time Magazine just put out an article about it.

The False Escapism of Soft Girls and Tradwives, by Vanessa Scaringi, February 28, 2024

As a conservative, this is a funny read.

But something I really found notable about the article is the criticism of female "softness".

This ironically at the same time this same group of people is criticizing so-called "toxic masculinity", trying to turn males soft.
(a problem that conservatives know as "wussification of men")


The article starts off:

The era of the "soft girl" is well underway. With 3 billion views on TikTok, the movement caters predominantly to women, specifically Gen-Z women, and the desire to achieve a delicate, care-free, ultra-feminine aesthetic. The lifestyle--while carefully crafted--sells the allure of a life defined by one thing: leisure. For many, the appeal is in admiring the beautiful aesthetics, like glitter and pastel accessories, and make-up tips to get the perfectly blushed "coquette" look. For others, it’s about pursuing an aspirational way of life full of "cozy cardio," Stanley water bottles, and a general sense of ease. But when taken too far, the ideals of soft girl culture give way to some hard consequences--on women's mental health and for society.

The sudden end of the "Girlboss" and the transition into this aesthetic marks an interesting societal trend into rigid definitions of femininity and limiting roles for women.
​

The article does point out something that I do believe to be true, and that is that some of this reversal seems to be driven by "escapism". With unaffordable rent and housing costs (in many areas), declining job opportunity and low wages, many young women seem to be "retreating" to the comfort of having a man provide for her. Or at least the idea of a man taking care of her. For many of these women, it is going to end up being a man older than she is.

The article continues:

"Confronting life's difficulties is not always easy, and it doesn't always feel worth it. A lack of intensity, in turn, certainly sounds appealing."
​
I certainly can understand this.

"Many of the women who embrace soft girl lifestyles have watched millennial women hustle to the point of negatively, impacting their mental health while still not earning enough to own a home. They may think, what's the point? Culturally, young women are aware that the old ideas of achieving financial stability through hard work are no longer applicable. This is scary to face, and the knowledge that their efforts in the way of career advancement and earning potential may go unrewarded might contribute to women aspiring to seek financial security through other means: namely, by reverting to old-fashioned gender roles that allow them to be cared for instead of hustling.
The tendency to avoid bleak prospects on stability, debt, and in general higher costs of living is not new."

[late]

Most families need that 2nd income.

Here's an interesting statistic, the hours worked by family, from the 1960s to the 2017/2018 crash went up by nearly 300%. Partly that's due to families getting more cars and bigger houses. You know, keeping up with the Jonses. But a lot of it was the rising income inequality.

For blue collar workers, it was something most had to do.