- Young Women Embrace the Role of Homemakers
Ladies in the kitchen? On Instagram and TikTok, the hashtag #HomeMaker (Eng. traditional homemaker) leads to a bizarrely outdated 1950s movie that's surprisingly set in the present day. The HomeMaker trend celebrates the image of the traditional homemaker who takes care of the home, meals, and her appearance with a cheerful disposition. Her main objective: a satisfied husband.
The Charm of Homemaking
A self-proclaimed HomeMaker like "Mary the Dairy Farmer" (28), with over 89,000 followers on Instagram, forages for herbs in long floral dresses, prepares extravagant sponge cakes, poses with a pink prayer book, and sympathizes with men who have to make their own lunches. She declares in a post that being a homemaker is the best career out there and she's compensated with affection. For her, the HomeMaker phenomenon celebrates "the allure of homemaking and motherhood."
Estee D. Women (26), a HomeMaker with nearly 200,000 TikTok followers, also prioritizes her man's happiness. In her videos, she discusses how to attract a "masculine man" and what constitutes a HomeMaker: "It's a woman who opts for a traditional lifestyle with extremely traditional roles." The man works, the woman takes care of the household. HomeMaker life becomes a way of life: Women is against prenups ("Because I believe in my husband's faithfulness") and advocates for women submitting to their husbands.
God, Conservatism, Domestic Chores
Many consider this submissive mentality concerning, especially as it places women at an economic disadvantage. HomeMakers reject this criticism, as Women explained to "CNN": "The distinction [from women in the 1950s] is that we have a choice. Women can choose to be just homemakers or work or do both."
However, the journey from traditional homemaker to conservative values is swift. Along with sourdough starters and full skirts, HomeMakers often promote Christian values and conservative ideologies. Women is a devoted Christian and Trump supporter. "Mary the Dairy Farmer" views her homemaker role as "divinely ordained" and decries abortion rights, transgender individuals, and vaccinations, despite running an OnlyFans account before her HomeMaker career.
Why Are So Many Young Women Drawn to the HomeMaker Lifestyle?
So, why are so many young women attracted to the HomeMaker lifestyle? Essentially, it's less complex. Women, for example, saw her mother, who balanced children, housework, and employment as a single parent, as a poor role model. "I didn't wish to struggle like that," she told "CNN".
Indeed, women work more than men, combining paid and unpaid work. In Germany, that's around nine more hours per week, as "Der Spiegel" reported this year. Traditional role models bypass this structural challenge. Granted, if one's income can support the family.
Intriguingly, HomeMakers and feminists share a significant common ground: both advocate for recognizing housework as employment. Whether love and gratitude are sufficient compensation is highly contestable.
Despite the criticisms, many HomeMakers, like Estee D., see their choice to embrace traditional roles as a personal one. They argue, as Estee did in an interview with CNN, that "women can choose to be just homemakers or work or do both."
In her TikTok videos, Estee emphasizes the importance of a traditional lifestyle and traditional gender roles, stating that a HomeMaker is "a woman who opts for a traditional lifestyle with extremely traditional roles."
