“Influence of religious ideologies”
Solie, 24, has made her husband the center of her life. In one video, she recommends submission to her husband and always being sexually available to him as the secret to a successful marriage. All follow biblical principles.
The former French reality TV star Haneia (500,000 subscribers), expatriated in the United States, decided to give up everything to devote herself entirely to her husband. “My responsibility is to feed the home.”says the one who grew up in the Mormon church.
What about the tradwife in Belgium?
The phenomenon resonates in the Netherlands and Germany but also reaches the French-speaking side in a slightly less extreme way. And in Belgium? “The ground is not quite ready for a tradwife trend but it will happen in the wake of the current right-wing movement.predicts Sylvie Lausberg, feminist psychoanalyst and former president of the Council of French-speaking Women of Belgium. “In the United States, this is linked to the strong influence of religious ideologies which value the role of the woman in the house, or as a complement to the man, ‘a fertile womb’, etc. It was a model in the 1950s which was accompanied by material well-being (the appearance of the vacuum cleaner, etc.), by empowering imagery for women who could take care of themselves. The post-war period was a pivotal period, not necessarily detrimental to the development of women. Today, the problem with this trend is that it places women in a situation of economic dependence, because they do not earn money. There is a price to pay.”
An attractive model
Over the years of struggles, women have obtained more rights and responsibilities. But this did not reduce his household chores (taking care of the home and the children). At the same time, the man sees his way of behaving called into question. The ground is fertile for growing the seed of the tradwife.
“There is a pendulum swing, we are in a time where women carry a lot of weight in society. This model from the 50s can seem attractive, we are not under pressure all the time: we can organize our day , have time to take care of the children But we fail to see that we are putting the woman back in a box that may seem rewarding when in reality we are organizing her financial dependence and her social isolation: according to the often religious model of. complementarity, the woman, guarantor of cement of the family, is confined to the home while the man works outside This leads to the rehabilitation of stereotypes about women We then see that, placed at the disposal of the man, the woman has no. rights and its role is to support and care for man“, explains Sylvie Lausberg who calls for safeguards to be put in place.”This model of the tradwife also encounters the frustrations and anxieties of men who struggle to find their place in an egalitarian society. Today, we must create a new model that takes all these parameters into account.”
Feminists are making more noise today but mentalities take time to change. “There are remnants of past generations and educational models and this new trend is added to them. It can match very well, especially since the response is very weak: universalist feminism no longer exists in Belgium. “There are no longer many voices that carry weight in the associative world to decipher the dangers of these returns to traditional roles, under the guise of respect for religious or political convictions, which are in reality often misogynistic positions.”she laments.
And above all, nothing is acquired. For Sylvie Lausberg, the step backwards is already taking place. “Progress for women’s rights is contested in Belgium. The question is to know who this idealized image of the housewife will match. In Hainaut, the large number of teenage pregnancies also testifies to a form of social valuation linked to motherhood, but very often these young couples do not last and it is the girl who, ultimately, will find herself alone with a kid without a diploma or money.”
