05 Mar International Women’s Day and The Rise of Trad Wives

Does a woman’s life truly begin when she becomes a mother? When she casts aside her biggest dreams, settles down, and surrenders her independence for the birth of her child. Is this what we’ve spent decades fighting for?

Imagine standing at the cusp of your collegiate graduation. You’ve spent at least the last four years working tirelessly for a hard-earned bachelor’s degree only to be told that everything you’ve worked for is meaningless. Last May, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker drew media attention at the commencement speech he delivered at Benedictine College, a private, Catholic college in Atchinson, Kansas. 

His speech goes as follows: “I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you. How many of you are sitting here now, about to cross this stage, and are thinking about all of the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career?” He continued. “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world..my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.” 

According to Butker, women’s lives only start when they begin serving men and producing offspring.

This sentiment, shocking to many, is becoming more commonplace in younger people’s philosophies. Women belong at home, bearing many children, and being obedient is also known as being a “Trad Wife” (traditional wife). The #tradwife hashtag has multiple posts on social media with some trad wife influencers gaining millions of followers. 

Women have fought for generations to secure equal opportunity, access, and personal agency. While parenthood may be an aspect of our lives if we choose, our worth is not confined by traditional family roles and stereotypes that we’ve spent years moving away from. 

As we approach International Women’s Day, things may look a bit different this year. Currently, we sit under a presidency that has repeatedly undermined women and a climate of right-wing politicians, influencers and grifters celebrating the subjugation of women and other marginalized communities

President Trump has sat down with podcasters who have openly degraded and promoted the debasement of women, both verbally and physically.. In 2020, Trump infamously boasted about grabbing women’s genitals and has been accused of inappropriate sexual misconduct by multiple people. Trump’s track record is clear: he lacks respect for us.

Women have spent decades proving our worth to America. We’ve worked tirelessly to fight for equal opportunity and pay, yet the pay gap is still very much present and worse for Black and Hispanic women Pew Research found that  “In 2022, Black women earned 70% as much as White men and Hispanic women earned only 65% as much. The ratio for White women stood at 83%, about the same as the earnings gap overall”,1  The push for women to become “trad wives” will further threaten gender equality.

In just three months, Trump has reversed decades of progress. He reinstated the Global Gag Rule, which prohibits organizations from receiving U.S funding if they fund abortion services. The reinstatement of this policy affects over 690 million people who can become pregnant worldwide. This jeopardizes access to contraception and reproductive healthcare. 

By dismantling government Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs aimed at enhancing opportunities for underrepresented populations, women can be limited in their opportunities in the workspace and higher education.

Trump’s executive orders also mandate that K-12 schools and universities end their DEI programs, so future discussions and books about gender discrimination and women’s equal rights will also be limited. 

As a result of Trump’s Global Gag Rule, organizations like the MSI (Marie Stopes International – a global organization that provides reproductive healthcare services) will lose significant funding, which will get rid of services for women in countries that need access to abortion and preventative healthcare. 

The people who will be most effected by anti-women sentiment and regressive laws are those with the least social capital; racialized, queer, disabled and trans women and gender diverse folks. 

Even though many would like women’s roles in society to be limited to homemaking and childrearing (which are important roles if you chose them), there are still millions who believe in the right of choice.

• The choice to have children or not, and when.

• The choice to be a stay-at-home parent or to have a 9-5.

• The choice of who to be in a relationship with and leave when you want.

The Trump Administration seeks to control women’s bodies, limit our autonomy, and push a narrative that threatens our capability. We cannot afford to stand by and we won’t. 

We are in this together, regardless of how we are each individually being affected, we must come together, have empathy for each other, and fight for the preservation of our rights and the American democracy. 

1. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/03/01/the-enduring-grip-of-the-gender-pay-gap/#:~:text=In%202022%2C%20Black%20women%20earned,%2C%20making%2093%25%20as%20much.