Women Are Sharing The "Traditional" Values They Want Society To Move On From, And They're Thought-Provoking
A lot of expectations come with being a woman, and over time, some things just become 'the norm.' Recently, Redditor u/Glad_Diamond_2103 asked women in the Reddit Community to share which tradition commonly associated with women that they'd like to change, and the responses were incredibly valid. Here are some "normalized" traditions women want society to move on from:
1."The 'housewife' stereotype. If I work, too, we're splitting the household chores 50/50. I'm not doing everything. This is your house as much as mine, so you better pull your weight. We can hire someone or get a robot vacuum; I don't care, but I'm not doing everything. If I wanted to do everything myself, I'd just live alone."
2."I would like to eliminate the 'not like other girls' phase entirely."
3."The whole wedding thing. Getting married should not be such a big accomplishment for a woman. It's okay to celebrate, but it shouldn't be considered the biggest day of a woman's life. I have met too many women who were so focused on the party aspect of a wedding that they ignored red flags from their husbands. It's sad to see how we turned what should be a simple ceremony into a big show."
4."Drink culture, but specifically, the kind that surrounds women where wine is seen as the 'classy' woman's drink and isn't equally viewed like other kinds of drinking. For example, joking about having a glass of wine every night to 'take the edge off' or making dinners 'fancy' by having wine with your girls. If you enjoy wine, by all means, go for it — but it seems like many women get swept into it because it's 'just what women do together.' As a non-drinker, I find it frustrating when every social outing has to have wine as the main feature."
5."'Beauty is pain.' Piss off with that."
6."That women are expected to stay looking young forever when men are 'allowed' to age normally. I'm on a team with a few guys the same age as me (late 30s), and one member has gotten noticeably grayer in the last couple of years, like me. But no one says things like, 'Oh, I love how you're not dyeing your hair' to him like they do to me. All of the female executives at the company I work for are in their 50s and older, and all have perfectly dyed and highlighted hair, while all the men in the same age range don't!"
7."Mothers being overly-critical of their daughter's appearance."
8."The 'only the mother' stereotype that makes women responsible for everything concerning their kids, while fathers lean back and are celebrated if they show up to the playground once in a while. Birthdays? School? Doctor appointments? Knowing your kid's social circle, allergies, and shoe size? It's all on the mother's to-do list. Everyone wants the mother's phone number by default because too many fathers can't be bothered. Women should go on strike instead of living the lie that only a mother can do this."
9."Expecting guys to pay for food and other things. We will never get closer to being equals if this is still an expectation."
10."The threat and anger that some women feel or become when they see a wedding guest wearing a dab of white, cream, or ivory, especially when the context of the outfit is ignored, and they are wearing other colors. Like, girl, you are the only one with the wedding gown, train, and bouquet, and your hair and makeup are done to the nines. The typical wedding guest doesn't look like you. The thing that 'ruins' the wedding is the reaction you're choosing to have. If people know you hold that tradition so incredibly tight, it becomes easy fuel for someone who wants to spite you on your day."
11."That we are born to 'complete' a man's world. Nope — we are born for our own purposes. A man is just an adjunct to that life."
12."There are so many traditions surrounding marriage that harken back to a time when women were property, not people. I'd change most of it, like 'giving away' the bride, joint bank accounts, and more."
13."Judging other women's sexual history. There's just no need. There's more than enough misogyny in the world already without us needing to direct it at each other."
14."Hair removal, oh my god."
15."Stop cooking on Thanksgiving and forcing your daughters to help. I'm so tired of Thanksgiving, where my mom and I had to cook for, like, 10–15 people, and none of them brought or helped with anything. My aunts would watch my mom, and I cook a whole Thanksgiving meal, and all the men just sat around talking about how much they were 'masters of the universe.' And no one considered helping to clean up, either. So screw that tradition."
16."Changing your last name when you get married."
17."Giving children the father's last name. Women go through nine months of suffering and then have to push a whole baby out. Why the hell would the baby get the FATHER'S last name? My son has mine, and all future children will have mine. It's a hill I'll die on."
18."Shaming a woman's dating choice or trying to make them feel guilty for not dating a particular type of man. If you truly believe in a woman's body autonomy, then whoever a woman gives their body access to is none of your business. There shouldn't be a caveat at the end of exempting certain men. It's all or nothing."
19.Lastly: "Having kids. I wish all young girls could grow up learning and realizing that they're allowed to have a choice in the matter and that it's okay to have kids just as much as it's okay to not have kids."
If you're a woman, what do you personally think about some of these traditions? Is there one that wasn't mentioned that you'd like society to move past? Let me know in the comments, or you can anonymously submit your thoughts using this form!
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
