WOW 365: Trad Wives, Girl Boss – Same Problem?
WOW in Focus: Are these trends built on the same patriarchal and racist ideals?
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Women have been told they can achieve and have everything, simultaneously being the CEO of a multi-million dollar company and having a perfectly curated domestic home life. But as time passes, questions are emerging on the validity and sustainability of such goals. Are girlboss and tradwives trends ultimately built on the same patriarchal and racist ideals?
From glossy images of curated domestic life as a “Trad Wife”, to the endless hustle of “Girl Boss” culture, women are being sold conflicting visions of empowerment. Both trends, though perceived as opposite ends of the gender equality spectrum, ultimately hold anti-feminist and racist values.
Packaged as ambitious leaders, the girlboss era saw male tactics of leadership touted as the blueprint for success to the cost of personal reputation and health. Glamorised as devout homemakers, the tradwives aesthetic overwhelmingly displays young white women as the ideal while shirking away from the real issues and cost of unpaid labour of motherhood.
Join author Tamu Thomas and Zara Hanawalt as they explore the surprising overlaps between these two extremes, questioning who benefits from these narratives, and how they shape our sense of ambition, value and liberation.
