I Don’t Feel Sorry For Trad Wives
My writing on this platform typically involves deep introspection as I excavate parts of my life previously unexposed to light.
But now and again I’m inspired to write about something that has nothing to do with me or my life. I’m drawn not by the yearning to empty my soul but the appeal of simply playing with an idea.
It was in this spirt of fun that I read about 24-year-old Kelsey who considers herself a “trad woman.”
Note that she’s not yet identifying as a “trad wife” because that particular milestone hasn’t happened to her yet. It lives in the realm of the hypothetical. There’s not a lot that’s real about it.
She’s not so much building a life as building a brand based on a stylised 1950s aesthetic.
Nostalgia and role-playing can be fun
When I was Kelsey’s age, I lived down the road from a couple who liked to dress up in the 1950s Rockabilly style, her with her swirly skirts and him with his slicked-back Elvis hair.
At first, I envied the romance and magic they had managed to import into their everyday lives. Then I realised I couldn’t be bothered. After all, it was the era of grunge and there was more cred to be…