- Tradwife trend sees women return to traditional housewife roles
- But women who think men should have power are less receptive parents.
In recent years, an unusual parenting trend has emerged in Britain: the “tradwife” movement.
The trend sees women return to the traditional roles of housewives, practiced in the 1950s and 1960s.
Men are considered to have the power in the relationship, and wives are encouraged to be submissive to their partner.
But a new study will be bad news for people following the tradwife movement.
Researchers at the University of Auckland have revealed that both mothers and fathers who think men should have authority are less receptive parents.
A new study will be bad news for people following the tradwife movement. Researchers at the University of Auckland have revealed that both mothers and fathers who think men should have authority are less receptive parents (file image)
The tradwife trend dates back to the 1950s in Britain and is already well established in the United States.
The belief behind the movement is that wives should not work.
Rather, they should spend their days cooking, cleaning, wearing modest, feminine clothing, and practicing traditional etiquette.
They should also be submissive to their husbands and always put them first.
However, skeptics consider this trend to be an example of “hostile sexism.”
This is characterized by beliefs that men should have power and authority in society.
In their new study, the team set out to understand the link between hostile sexism and parental attitudes and behaviors.
Ninety-five groups of parents were surveyed about their parenting styles, before researchers observed them playing with their five-year-old child.
The results revealed that Parents with higher levels of hostile sexism reported less warm and more controlling parental attitudes.
The team hopes the findings will encourage families to address and challenge hostile attitudes about power dynamics within families (file image)
Observations also showed that both fathers and mothers with higher hostile sexism displayed “less responsive parenting.”
Responsive parenting refers to family interactions in which parents are aware of their children’s emotional and physical needs and respond appropriately and consistently, in accordance with the National Medical Center.
While the reason for this link is still unclear, researchers have several theories.
“Accepting parental authority may mean that mothers higher in hostile sexism follow their fathers’ lead in directing family interactions, resulting in less engaged and child-centered parenting,” Dr. Nickola said. Overall, lead author of the study.
“Another possibility is that mothers with a higher level of hostile sexism protect their role as caregivers by restricting fathers’ involvement, which prevents them from being responsive to their children.”
The team hopes the findings will encourage families to address and challenge hostile attitudes about power dynamics within families.
“Gender inequality and child well-being are current global challenges, and sexist beliefs about the types of roles appropriate for men and women contribute to gender inequalities,” said Dr. Overall.
“The current results underline that the harmful effects of sexist attitudes also imply poorer parenting, which has important long-term consequences for children’s well-being and development.”
