The share of people choosing not to marry has doubled since 2002, and the idea of women not working now feels like ancient history. Yet, while we once celebrated liberation from the traditional family, there are signs of its return. Some see the viral social media phenomenon of the ‘trad wife’ as symptomatic of this, but it is also reflected in a Gen-Z study by The Times that found young people in 2025 were twice as likely to support marriage compared to their counterparts twenty years ago. Meanwhile, Taylor Swift sings, “when I said I don’t believe in marriage that was a lie,” and “I just want to have a couple of kids.”
Should we see this shift as a conservative traditionalism that threatens to undermine decades of feminist progress? Or is it, as some claim, a radical response to the relentless capitalist machine, prioritising a slower life and less focus on economic growth? More fundamentally, does marriage inherently undermine women, or can traditional roles be endorsed alongside financial and political equality?
Should we see this shift as a conservative traditionalism that threatens to undermine decades of feminist progress? Or is it, as some claim, a radical response to the relentless capitalist machine, prioritising a slower life and less focus on economic growth? More fundamentally, does marriage inherently undermine women, or can traditional roles be endorsed alongside financial and political equality?
