The Modern Stepford America

 The Modern Stepford America

In an excellent article from The Hartman Report, shared by my friend Henry Popkin, “The Dark Side of the Tradwife Movement,” I found that while I knew something of the information covered, I was unfamiliar with the term, “tradwife.” Further reading and research found that it refers to the “TRADitional” role of the female in marriage as one of homemaking and child-rearing. Having been raised in an “Ozzie and Harriet” household (my brother was even named Ricky) I understand the concept and appreciate some of the benefits of such an environment. It worked for us in the 1950s and 60s before I went away to college. At some point, however, my parents both were wage earners with my mother joining my father in the real estate business.

Ozzie, Harriet, David, and Ricky
The Nelsons

While times may have changed, the mindsets of a few remain mired in the past. In the Hartman Report article, the plight of many women in this draconian post-Roe world sponsored by Donald J. Trump and his fellow “Stepford Men” on the Supreme Court and in Congress, was brought to light. The harsh reality of what they had “accomplished” was related to one tale where a woman (Amanda) who suffered a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy was denied proper medical care. She was denied treatment because, even though ectopic pregnancies left to their own fate result in near-certain death of both the woman and the fetus they are carrying, the doctors are threatened with 91 years in prison if they treat a woman after a bundle of cells in the microscopic zygote begin to twitch. This twitching of cells in the zygote is defined in law as a “fetal heartbeat” even though there is no fully formed fetus or discernable heart.

The end result of these new “freedoms” mandated by the Supreme Court is that the states now have the right to impose their own laws guided by whatever religious morality happens to dominate their individual state legislatures. In Texas, Amanda went into sepsis, nearly died, and lost a fallopian tube in the process. Any future attempts to have children would require an expensive and painful IVF procedure. But if she wants to follow that route, she had better hurry because Republican-led legislatures want to outlaw IVF. From their lofty moral ground, legislatures want to dictate how, when, and why a person should get pregnant, what their doctors are allowed to do to protect her life, and even mandate that she should die so that they might sleep in self-righteous peace.

Tradwife

In true Stepford Wives fashion, the robot-like females of this new Republican utopia will feel like they have just stepped out of a time-traveling DeLorean and awakened in a 1950s sitcom, albeit one without humor or laugh track. While the choice to be a homemaker is laudable, it can only be so if it is still a choice made of free will and not the result of some legal mandate. If we ever return to a world in which a family can have the replacement level fertility rate of 2.1 kids and live a full happy existence on a single salary, perhaps more people would elect to have one parent stay home. Or not. It should be their choice.

The Hartman article went on to remind us of what that past meant for half of our population. Since women might get pregnant, employers before 1964 could deny a woman employment. Until 1974 home sellers and real estate agents could refuse to sell a home to a woman. Before 1988, landlords could refuse to rent to women. Husbands could legally rape their wives before 1993. It was the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 that finally allowed women to get a credit card in their name without a male co-signer.

The Cleavers, Leave it to Beaver

Harriet Nelson, June Cleaver, Lucy Ricardo, and Donna Stone all wore high heels and dresses, cooked dinner for the family, and raised the kids. It all looked idyllic on a 21-inch black and white television screen. As Joanna Eberhart eventually realized in the quaint little town of Stepford, Connecticut, appearances can be deceiving. In twenty states, Republicans have taken the right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy away from women. They also want to take away the right to contraception so many more women would be forced to leave their jobs or be faced with the difficulties of holding down a job (or two) while trying to raise children. In the words of JD Vance, women should stay home and serve their husbands. His implication is that women in the workplace drive down wages by competing with men for jobs.

If you think we should, as voiced at the beginning of each Lone Ranger television episode of the 50s, “Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear,” and force women to become the new June Cleavers of the future, my guess is that you and your “tradwife” will be voting for Donald Trump and his sidekick, JD Vance. If, however, you think women are fully capable of being more like Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones and can be strong, confident, and courageous, you would be voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

“I am Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, the Unburnt, Mother of Dragons, Khaleesi to Drogo's riders, and queen of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.” “I am the blood of the dragon. I must be strong. I must have fire in my eyes when I face them, not tears.”