Tradwives

By Mónica Hernández

There is much talk today of sisterhood, of financial independence, of personal objectives above those of the family, of the burden of centuries of relegating women to the space of a house, a kitchen or a sewing machine. Yes, there are the statistics that show in a cold and disinterested way that the management positions of companies have few women (despite the fact that James Heckman, Nobel Prize in Economics, states categorically that companies with at least 30% of women in top executive positions generate 15% or more profits in companies that do not have them). We praise and celebrate the merits of those Amazons, of those Valkyries, because what has to be sacrificed to reach a place of "men" is not quantifiable (at least not monetarily). And yet.... My inner Miss Marple sniffed out a case to investigate and, as with everything, I jumped in head first.

First clue: there are other women's groups (I felt smart). Today, in 2023, they are huddling together to defend their own beliefs and what they consider their spaces. I'm talking about the tradwivesa worldwide movement that proposes to return women to the traditional roles of housewives, cooks and full-time mothers. The first surprise: these are young women, not grandmothers who knew no other option. And here lies the most interesting point: this is a personal choice, even if it sounds like conservative and religious indoctrination, with macho overtones. It is not. They are not. We are talking about young people who voluntarily choose to become that which appeared in the series and cartoons of the 50s and 60s of the twentieth century, but well imbued in the twenty-first century. If they had a sacred book, it would be Helen Andelin's Fascinating Womanhood (written in 1963, when her bench mates were struggling to run a marathon, enter politics and wear pants). They have blogs, TikToks, Instagram and YouTube channels where they show their sisterhood and solidarity with others who think and live like them. They are sophisticated and elegant, always impeccable (trapeze in heels? Yes you can!). Their mission is to take care of the husband, raise the children, take care of the house and cook. Ladies, the husband provides and makes the rules, is one of the most repeated phrases in their social networks, along with the positivism of what they do and what they irremediably become.