The “stay-at-home girlfriend” trend on TikTok centres on mostly childless Gen Z women who stay at home keeping house while their boyfriends take care of the financial responsibilities. The videos have sparked backlash, such as concerns over financial abuse or that these women glorify female domesticity.
Amid the criticism, there’s an undercurrent of resonance. Several of the articles I read suggested women were weary of the girl boss narrative they or their mothers might have once found so empowering.
In this essay, I talk about the tension between income-earning and women’s other interests and pursuits, as well as some of the pitfalls of the stay-at-home girlfriend arrangement.
Links
Mary Harrington on previous eras of heterosexual working arrangements and their modern counterparts
Stay-at-home Girlfriends on TikTok