Yesterday I wrote here in this Faith and Freedom Daily column and talked about on our daily radio program, the spiritual move happening among the Gen Z young people in our country. They are turning to God by the tens of thousands all across America because they have hit the emotional and spiritual wall---they need answers to life's problems.
Gen Z is also turning to more traditional cultural beliefs like traditional family roles.
Emma Waters writes for the Federalist, "For women who have observed the unhappy zero-sum battle of the sexes, many feel that the modern world, for all its promises, has failed them."
Be informed, not misled.
Yesterday, I quoted youth minister Shane Pruitt, who said in part, "The pandemic didn't create new problems for Gen Z, but I think it poured gas on some problems already there. You have a whole generation who has come to the end of themselves at a much earlier age," Pruitt explained. "They are looking for hope and they are looking for answers."
And they are turning to God for the true answers to life's greatest issues.
Gen Z is also turning to traditional values---specifically traditional biblical family roles.
Emma Waters, writing for The Federalist, says, "Hannah Neeleman, a Utah-based cattle farmer and mother of eight, is perhaps the most popular Instagram 'tradwife' — a growing category of social media influencers who reject the not-so-traditional 9-to-5 workforce in favor of homeschooling their children, homemaking, or running a family business. Though her content is entirely wholesome, she is not without controversy."
The controversy, Waters explains, is the fact that Neeleman's husband is the son of the former CEO of Jet Blue airline and is worth about $400 million. This, Waters says, enabled Neeleman and her husband to make the transition from career ladder climbing to a traditional family model.
However, Hanna and her husband are not the only couple making these lifestyle changes. Others are as well---without family wealth.
For many women, who increasingly report “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” and disillusionment with the “girlboss” lifestyle, these influencers offer an idyllic alternative to urban life. They are illuminating a deeper hunger among women, especially among Generation Z.
A quick search on Google Trends shows that the term “tradwife” [Traditional Wife] gained popularity in 2018 but peaked in 2020 as the pandemic accelerated women’s return to the home. Instead of being confined to religious or ultra-wealthy women, the tradwife movement entered mainstream discussions. It offered women the chance to reclaim the ingredients of happiness — faith, family, community, and meaningful work — back from the career-focused model they grew up with.
The Left, of course, has noticed and is not happy with this trend.
USA Today says, " Perfectly coiffed hair. A pinup dress. A gorgeous home-cooked meal on a decadent dining room table."
These images convey that of a "traditional wife," a woman you might picture as being from the 1950s.
But these women – known as "trad wives," and typically Christian conservatives – are here today and gaining attention on TikTok to the tune of nearly 187 million views. Many of their followers celebrate the life these women aim to showcase, but others worry they are idealizing a time when women enjoyed less autonomy and fewer rights than they have now − especially as we head into a heated election season.
So the Leftist movement isn't really about personal choice. It's about mandated lifestyles. USA Today asks, "Who is in control of my life?"
They are echoing the tired old feminist demand that every girl must do what boys do---except better.
Journalist and author Jo Piazza believes there are aspects of the tradwife aesthetic that can be harmful to young, impressionable girls. The purported '50s sitcom lifestyle was just that: a television ideal more than a real-life one, she says.
Has it occurred to Jo that pressure to compete with men on every level can also be harmful to young--impressionable girls?
Males and females are different.
We were created to complement, not compete with one another.
And what about the demands our culture is putting on 5-year-old girls to evaluate whether they are male or female without telling their parents? I suppose that is also considered to be "progress?"
Waters says, "It’s worth considering why Gen Z women, who have the most professional opportunities and fewest barriers to education, work, and politics, would flock in large numbers to tradwife influencers. No doubt the online accounts are more intense in their expressions of femininity, homemaking, or anti-feminist sentiment than the average follower, but then, this is always the case with influencers."
For Gen Z women who have observed the unhappy zero-sum game that is the battle of the sexes, many feel that the modern world, for all its promises, has failed them. They’re looking for an older and truer model for how to live a good life. Or, as Carmel Richardson said, “There are too many elders who give bad advice about marriage and family. I am trying to become the matriarch I want to see in the world.”
The exhaustion and subsequent disenchantment this has produced in Gen Z women is enough to spark a counterrevolution.
Waters says, "At their best, tradwives require more of the men around them. Rather than trying to replace the men in their lives (father, husband, perhaps employer) when they fail, such tradwives hold them accountable to provide, protect, and grow within the family. Few things could sound scarier to a woman who has been failed by a man she thought she could trust through divorce, unfaithfulness, or abandonment. Nonetheless, many women are realizing that the happiness they desire requires reliance upon a husband and other family members to succeed."
This is true because this concept is aligned with God's plan for marriage and family: a male husband, a female mother, and children---each with their own unique role designed by God Himself.
Waters says, "Countercultural movements tend to overcorrect to provide the next generation of women with a moderate option between the two ideological extremes of careerism and the rejection of all “paid work.”
This is the path to happiness.
It is the cornerstone of any sustaining culture.
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful.