It's a tale as old as time. These relationships still exist, and now some women are bragging about it.
Stay-at-Home Girlfriends Are Having a Moment [bold added]
The typical stay-at-home girlfriend video opens on a young woman in a pristine apartment. At 8 a.m., she makes the bed and cooks pancakes for her boyfriend before he goes to work. After a green juice, it’s time for self care: a private Pilates reformer session and a microcurrent facial. Then, she has lunch with a girlfriend at a local hot spot, goes for a long walk and listens to a podcast before it’s time to get ready for date night.
Clips like this abound on TikTok—smooth, hypnotic videos presenting an idealized vision of a traditional marriage, minus the wedding ring, plus a dose of the current wellness boom. Being a stay-at-home girlfriend (or SAHG for short) is all about supporting your boyfriend with tasks like cooking and housework, plus a rigorous self-care regimen to keep up appearances. The phenomenon reflects a Gen Z move away from mid-2000s “girlboss” hustle culture, and toward aspirations of a softer life.
As to what the men get out of these relationships, it may seem obvious from the photos of three SAHG's above, but the writer feigns ignorance.
Often, the boyfriends themselves are the ones to propose these arrangements. They’re working a lot, or traveling a lot, and want extra support at home. Or they just enjoy paying for everything.
This lifestyle choice is antithetical to
woman-needs-a-man-like-a-fish-needs-a-bicycle feminism, but true liberation is the freedom to live the life you want, not the life that people say you should want.
No comments:
Post a Comment