A baby boomer has expressed dismay over the rise of tradwife influencers, calling the trend a 'sad indictment' of the challenges facing young people today. Caroline Stone, writing from Seville, Spain, responded to a recent Guardian article in which Lucy Knight spent a month following tradwife advice.
Stone, a mother and grandmother, acknowledged the appeal of the tradwife lifestyle—characterised by gingham, herb gardens, and sourdough—as a comforting fantasy in difficult times. However, she warned of its dangers, citing Sue Kaufman's novel Diary of a Mad Housewife as a cautionary tale.
Stone defended her generation's legacy, listing their activism: marching to Aldermaston, campaigning against the death penalty and the incarceration of homosexuals, demanding equal rights and pay for women, and protesting the Vietnam and Iraq wars. She recalled having a rubbish bin tipped over her head by an eco-sceptic during a recycling campaign.
'We were not trying to create a world in which the young needed to take refuge in tradwife fantasies,' Stone wrote. 'It is regrettable that we failed, but we tried.'
