Image from Kaitlin Brito for Mother Jones
Why we should all be feminist is not just a question for debate, it’s a powerful truth we need to hold close, whether you’re embracing the trad wife lifestyle or carving out your own unconventional path.
In recent years, the “trad wife” movement—celebrating traditional homemaking and gender roles—has seen a resurgence, often wrapped in the language of choice and freedom. But while this lifestyle resonates with some, it raises important questions about freedom, equality, and the broader goals of feminism. In this article, we explore why we should all be feminist, whether we embrace traditional roles or not, by examining the risks of the traditional movement and reaffirming that feminism is inclusive and vital for everyone.
Understanding the Trad Wife Movement
The trad wife movement romanticizes the idea of women returning to a version of domestic life marked by cooking, cleaning, and full-time homemaking, often alongside a breadwinning husband. It harks back to an idealized past where clear gender roles supposedly meant order and happiness.
However, as Maya Rodale highlights in her analysis of the movement’s origins, the reality behind these idealized traditional roles was far more complicated—and often restrictive. Historically, women who stuck to these roles had limited rights, financial independence, and legal protections. This context is crucial for understanding the modern “return” to tradition and to why we should all be feminist.
The Illusion of Freedom in Traditional Roles
As Broadview magazine points out, the trad wife movement can sometimes mask an illusion of freedom. Choosing to be a full-time homemaker is valid and empowering if it’s a freely made choice, but it isn’t inherently liberating if the choice is narrowed by economic dependence or societal pressure.
For many women throughout history, and still today, traditional roles have meant sacrificing personal ambitions, education, and financial autonomy. The danger lies in portraying these roles as the only—or the most fulfilling—path for women, which can limit the diversity of women’s experiences and freedoms.
Feminism Is for All Women — And All Choices
Feminism’s core is about expanding freedom and equality for everyone, regardless of gender. It’s about having the right to choose your own path without judgment or limitation. This means feminism should support women who choose traditional domesticity just as much as it supports women who pursue careers, education, or non-traditional roles.
The keyword here is choice. We should all be feminist because feminism safeguards this very choice. It ensures women aren’t coerced—socially, economically, or culturally—into roles they do not want. And it challenges outdated norms that restrict individuals based on gender.
The Risks of Overlooking Feminism in the Trad Wife Narrative
Ignoring the importance of feminism when celebrating traditional roles risks erasing the progress made toward equality. It can sideline conversations about systemic barriers still facing women, including wage gaps, reproductive rights, and workplace discrimination.
Moreover, some factions within the trad wife movement align themselves with ideologies that objectify or diminish women’s status outside of domesticity. These perspectives can undermine feminist efforts by promoting a narrow definition of womanhood that excludes those who don’t—or can’t—conform.
Sylvia Plath’s Fierce, Unapologetic Lens
Now, let’s get real with the spirit of Sylvia Plath. Her life and poetry were a tempest—full of raw truth about the tight ropes women are often forced to walk between. Plath’s words unapologetically expose the internal and external cages built by society’s expectations—cages that cage our ambitions, our voices, and our identities.
When we look at the trad wife movement through Plath’s fierce, haunted eyes, we see a warning: don’t let tradition silence the wild, messy truths inside you. Don’t settle for a neatly wrapped role if it means losing your whole self. Plath’s story pleads with us to resist the silence imposed by narrow roles and to reclaim the freedom of being complex, flawed, ambitious, tender, and unapologetically whole.
Her work is a siren’s call to all women: the struggle for identity is not just about fitting into someone else’s mold—it’s about breaking it and building our own. This is why we should all be feminist. Because feminism gives us the tools to rip off the masks, to name our own narratives, and to live fully, whether that means cooking dinner or running the boardroom—or hell, both.
Embracing Feminism While Valuing Tradition
Valuing tradition and embracing feminism aren’t enemies—they’re dance partners in the messy ballet of modern womanhood. Feminism encourages us to hold traditions up to the light, keep what makes us shine, and toss what dims us down.
If you love the homemaking life, feminism is here to remind you: you deserve respect, choice, and independence within that role. If you reject tradition, feminism has your back fiercely, too. Because freedom isn’t one-size-fits-all.
Summary: Why We Should All Be Feminist—Trad Wives or Not
The trad wife movement forces us to think about freedom, choice, and equality in bold new ways. While celebrating traditional roles can feel empowering when it’s a conscious choice, we cannot ignore the danger of those roles becoming cages, no matter how gilded.
We should all be feminist because feminism fights for the power to choose—fully, freely, without shame or limits. It fights to make space for every woman’s story, honoring the rich variety of ways we can show up in the world.
And just like Sylvia Plath dared to uncover the tangled, raw truth inside her, feminism calls us to own our whole selves. Because at the end of the day, empowerment isn’t about fitting in—it’s about breaking free. Trad wife or not, we are capable of extraordinary lives designed on our own terms.
Let’s keep lifting one another higher, remembering that the fiercest freedom is the freedom to be exactly who we are. That’s the power and promise of feminism—and damn, it’s one heck of a sisterhood to be part of.
Hungry for more? Check these articles to learn more about feminism and trad wives:
- The original Trad Wives were the first feminists
- Trad wives and the lie of liberation
- Tradwives: A superficial threat to feminism but deeper divide among women
- Trad Wives Are Thriving in the Post-Dobbs Era
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