TikTok videos don't embed on Blogger hence the Youtube video. Same content, though!
Her posts have gathered both positive and negative comments. Some negative remarks point to her choice of “dressing the part” of a stereotypical 1950s housewife - or at least how they were portrayed on television.
Barbara Billingsley as June Cleaver
Donna Reed as Donna Stone
Williams is often accused of fetishizing the look with 50s-era cinched-waist dresses and pearl necklaces. Commenter Laura Hazell wrote on one of Williams’ videos, “It’s the whole cosplay aspect of it that baffles me - not the ‘stay at home/trad wife’ but that it’s emulating a precise carbon copy of 1950s wifey.” This trend has also generated some popular spoof videos.
The feminist movements of the 20th century sought to dismantle rigid gender roles, advocating for women's liberation, equality, and the right to choose their paths in life. The "Trad Wife" movement appears to romanticize a time when women's roles were more narrowly defined. Detractors say the movement's emphasis on domesticity and submission only reinforces the idea that a woman's primary worth lies in her ability to conform to traditional roles rather than pursuing her aspirations and interests.
The challenge of the feminist movement lies in fostering an inclusive dialogue that respects individual agency while continuing to advocate for a world where all women have the freedom to shape their destinies on their terms. Williams and other Trad Wives express their desire to take on the roles of homemaker and caregiver. Their motivation is not to subvert women's rights or societal progress, but rather to embrace a traditional lifestyle for their own family. It’s a decision they have made for themselves. Isn’t that the point of feminism, for everyone to have the freedom to choose?
Yes! I think one of the points of feminism is to have the freedom to choose...and the freedom to change one's mind. I know many women who decided to be a full- time mother and stay home with their kids, and then at some point they decided it didn't work for them. I know others who dove right into a career for years and then decided they wanted to change it up and do something else. We need to be ok with the idea that every woman has the right to choose the way she wants to live and that she can later change paths. We need to stop judging and monitoring people so closely. I found an interesting article in the New York Times called "Why women should embrace a ‘good enough’ life." Walsh (2013), born in 1957, explained how as a young woman she was intoxicated with idea that she could have a career and was committed to never marry or have a child, but have an interesting profession. Walsh went on to explain, "But today, 16 years into life as a working mother and 23 years into a marriage, I’ve come to question many of the truths I once held dear. The woman I wanted to be at 22 is not the woman I wanted to be at 38 — not even close — and she is certainly not who I am now at 55" (para. 1). I like this idea of it being alright for us to choose a path and then totally change our minds later, and we need to allow others this same prerogative.
ReplyDeleteIf feminism is supposed to allow for women to chose whatever lifestyle they want to live wether it be a stay at home mom or a CEO, it doesn't matter, they should be able to choose. When people fight for women in this way and yet go on to criticize and ridicule other women for choosing a more traditional lifestyle, it seems to be the opposite of what they are fighting for, they are being hypocritical. It's as though they are fighting for the women to be able to choose as long as they choose the "correct" path which is one that goes against traditional gender roles. Unfortunately, this is something that occurs in most aspects of life, not just feminism. We live in a society that is quick to judge others if their values or lifestyle doesn't perfectly line up with our own. You are completely right in saying that the point is to give women the power to choose what is best for them. Supporting women should mean supporting all women, we shouldn't pick and choose which women get supported and which don't, regardless of whether we agree with their lifestyle choice or not.
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