The Happy Homemaker: Is There a Resurgence of Women Making Homemaking Their Career?
?? Cathleen Zappulla, MBA
Future-Proofing Careers + Businesses in a World of Radical Change | Career, Leadership + Business Strategy ?? | Keynote Speaker + Podcast Guest ??? | Former C-Suite Exec ?? Solopreneur | 3M+ Views | @czfutureofwork
The commencement address heard around the world, by Harrison Butker, seems to have as many supporters (including women) as contrarians. My initial reaction, listening to the speech, was horror, if I’m being honest. After reading comments on so many posts regarding the speech, it became clear that we are a world divided (once again if you can believe it) on women choosing careers, rather than staying home and tending to children and husbands full time. Some reactors were (and remain) horrified, some honored all opinions and accepted his comments based on free speech, and some outright (and vocally) supported his position.
Not only were Butker's comments incendiary, but they seemed tone-deaf based on the audience and his own mother's career choice. The commencement audience was filled with Benedictine female graduates preparing to walk the aisle to receive their hard-earned degrees. Elizabeth Butker, Harrison's mother, is a medical physicist at Emory University Winship Department of Radiation Oncology where she has served since 1988. She is the definition of a career woman, on a mission to cure cancer. Despite these anomalies, it was a message with purpose, aimed at audiences well beyond the one sitting in that gymnasium on that graduation day.
There is a trend emerging that is worthy of discussion, no matter how controversial.? And this trend impacts the Future of Work, a space I am passionate about. The Future of Work is not exclusively about how AI will impact the workplace. Additional fascinating and complex changes are happening to 'work' well beyond AI. Generational trends, gender role struggles, professionals connecting virtually across borders, independent work becoming the norm rather than the exception, and the eroding relationship between employee and employer, are just a few. We tend to see more traditional business discussions on LinkedIn that might miss movements appearing on other platforms. Some shifts directly impact how the work landscape is evolving, including this movement. And to be clear, Butker is not creating this new trend, he's simply a voice for a trend that has already begun. A trend called the 'Tradwives Movement.'
The Homemaker ~ or Tradwives ~ Movement: Craft homemade meals from scratch like a Michelin chef, have (a lot) of children (at home in your bathtub), and look like a cover model and pageant queen, at all times (whether you are one or not).
Tradwife influencers are celebrated by the millions on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok for homemaking and ‘serving’ their husbands and families.?
This is Nara Aziza Smith, a 22-year-old model, mother, and influencer popular in the happy homemaker space. She makes everything from homemade mozzarella, homemade oreos, and bubble gum, while dressed in a chic dress, and retro curls. The backdrop is her stark Dallas marble kitchen equipped with all the modern amenities including the requisite white Kitchen-Aid mixer and SMEG retro-style toaster.
With many months at home during COVID, a new generation of young women found value in making a home, being nurturing, and learning to cook (well). Some educated young women have even taken up farming and homesteading. Many social media platforms have promoted this trend of young women seeking a quieter, more peaceful, and family-focused lifestyle.
This phenomenon is playing out in real life at Ballerina Farms.? "The farm is nestled in the fertile mountain valley of Kamas, Utah.? Blessed with cool summers and snowy winters, livestock and humans alike enjoy this high-altitude oasis.”??Hannah Neeleman and her husband own and operate Ballerina Farms. However, Hannah is not a housebound farm girl. She is an educated woman, a pageant winner (named Mrs. American 2023), a trained ballerina, and a graduate of Juilliard in New York City, the world leader in performance arts education. Hannah has 9 MILLION followers on Instagram alone.
On the Ballerina Farms website, you can order her Ballerina Box with their favorite meat cuts, homemade cinnamon rolls, and a FREE Danish Hook (Jesus, I don’t even know what that is?!?).? Hannah is a mother of EIGHT children whom she homeschools.
Hannah is undoubtedly gorgeous, clearly bright, and very, very accomplished, as a mother, a woman, a wife, a teacher, and a professional. She is using her influence to promote the more ‘traditional’ family unit.? Watch her on social, she makes HOMEMADE Rocky Road Ice Cream (with HOMEMADE marshmallows) with a newborn wrapped in her pouch.?
Honestly, I have no desire to compete at this level.? But the point is, she is a role model to a large group of EDUCATED women who love what she is doing (and what she is promoting).
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Hannah's 'brand' is now worth many millions (and growing). And Nara is catching up to her. Do not be fooled! These are career women! They are building a career that promotes homemaking. They are no different than Joanna Gaines, a self-made businesswoman and empress. A line of kitchen appliances and styled aprons is sure to come for Hannah and Nara.
Few homemakers can say the same - and that's where things get dangerous. There are real considerations for a woman to sacrifice her career - perhaps a career she loved - to stay at home. Without millions of dollars to rely on, and an audience of millions to fall back on, life can become challenging - no career might mean no safety net. The reason many women fought for equality and the right to work is that they had become diminished and stuck with no options in a marriage they could not leave because they had no formal source of independent income. All I can say is that I hope Butker's wife has a prenup, or a good lawyer, should she ever need one.
This cautionary tale aside, the reality is (we hope) the Future of Work is about making work (and home) look like whatever we want it to look like. For some, this means a career as a mom and a wife (which is a career!), raising a family, making a happy home with a warm apple pie baked with apples picked from the backyard orchard (and in extreme instances ‘compounding’ and preparing for Armageddon).? I joke, although there is a real trend as well.
Regardless of your opinion on the Tradwives trend, and regardless of what work looks like for you, no one, including and especially some football kicker named Harrison Butker, has the right to diminish or degrade others to empower his agenda. It's not okay. Let us be proud of our own choices and encourage each other to evolve authentically, positively, and thoughtfully, as the future is complex and it's going to be a wild ride.
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10 个月I like your point (well made) about this being a choice when you have money, either as a couple, or are creating an income for yourself. As you say, in Hannah's case there is a career choice there.
Future-Proofing Careers + Businesses in a World of Radical Change | Career, Leadership + Business Strategy ?? | Keynote Speaker + Podcast Guest ??? | Former C-Suite Exec ?? Solopreneur | 3M+ Views | @czfutureofwork
10 个月Thank you Yaksh Singh! Important topic for discussion as it relates to the future of work, so wanted to be as thorough as possible!