Sweden’s ‘soft girl’ trend that celebrates women quitting work

Sweden has a world repute for championing gender equality, so why are younger ladies embracing a social media pattern that celebrates quitting work?

Vilma Larsson, 25, beforehand had jobs in a grocery retailer, a care dwelling and a manufacturing unit. However she give up work a 12 months in the past to turn into a stay-at-home-girlfriend, and says she’s by no means been happier.

“My life is softer. I’m not struggling. I’m not very careworn.”

Her boyfriend works remotely in finance, and whereas he spends his days on his laptop computer, she’s on the health club, out for espresso, or cooking. The couple grew up in small cities in central Sweden, however now journey loads, and are spending the winter in Cyprus.

“Each month he provides me a wage from his cash that he made. But when I would like extra, I will ask him. Or if I would like much less, I do not – I simply save the remaining,” explains Ms Larsson.

She shares her way of life on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, the place she’s amassed 11,000 followers. A few of her posts have had nearly 400,000 likes, though she says she’s not making an earnings from her content material.

She makes use of the hashtags “hemmaflickvän” and “hemmafru” (Swedish for stay-at-home girlfriend and housewife) and describes herself as a “tender woman” – an id that embraces a softer, extra female way of life reasonably than focussing on a profession.

The tender woman way of life has been a microtrend on social media in numerous elements of the world because the late 2010s. However in Sweden – with five decades of policies designed to advertise twin earnings households behind it – the idea’s current reputation has sparked each shock and division.

Ungdomsbarometern – Sweden’s largest annual survey of younger individuals – first put the nationwide highlight on Swedes embracing the tender woman pattern a 12 months in the past, after it turned a preferred selection when 15 to 24-year-olds had been requested to predict trends for 2024.

Another study launched by Ungdomsbaromatern this August recommended it was even changing into an aspiration amongst youthful schoolgirls, with 14% of seven to 14-year-olds figuring out as tender women.

“It’s about leaning away from this ‘woman boss’ excellent that we have seen for lots of years, the place there are very, very excessive calls for for achievement in each facet of life,” explains Johanna Göransson, a researcher for Ungdomsbarometern.

There isn’t a official information on the variety of younger “tender women” quitting work altogether and residing off their companions like Ms Larsson, and Ms Göransson says it’s more likely to be a small proportion.

However it’s however turn into a serious speaking level in Sweden, from opinion items in broadsheet newspapers, to panel discussions at Almedalen – an enormous annual cross-party political occasion – and on Swedish public service tv.

Gudrun Schyman – the co-founder and former chief of Sweden’s feminist social gathering Feministiskt initiativ – says she’s taken half in current debates on the problem. She believes ladies residing off their companions wealth is “very harmful”, and “a step backwards” for gender equality.

Ms Schyman argues that younger Swedes have been influenced by the nation’s right-wing coalition authorities, which collaborates with the nationalist Sweden Democrats social gathering, in addition to the “broader growth” of populism in Europe and america.

She additionally thinks there’s a lack of expertise about life in Sweden earlier than it embraced insurance policies designed to advertise gender equality, corresponding to closely subsidised childcare and shared parental go away. “Younger ladies at this time do not carry the historical past of how ladies needed to combat for his or her rights – the best to work, the best to have a wage, and the best to financial independence.”

On the different finish of the political spectrum, the Sweden Democrats social gathering has been optimistic in the direction of the tender women pattern.

“I feel that folks ought to get to resolve over their very own life,” says Denice Westerberg, nationwide spokesperson for the social gathering’s youth wing. “And if in case you have that financial chance to try this [live off a partner] then good for you.

“We nonetheless dwell in a rustic with all of the alternatives to have a profession. We nonetheless have all of the rights, however we’ve the best to decide on to dwell extra historically.”

Apart from ideological debates, discussions have focussed on the social and cultural elements that could possibly be influencing younger ladies to give up work – or at the least aspire to a softer way of life.

Sweden has a repute for work life stability – most workers get six-weeks holiday a year, and fewer than 1% work greater than 50 hours per week.

Nonetheless, Ungdomsbaromatern’s analysis suggests rising stress ranges amongst younger individuals, and Ms Göransson believes tender women pattern could also be an extension of current international work tendencies corresponding to “quiet quitting”, which inspires workers to not overextend themselves.

In the meantime, the Technology Z age group (the cohort born between 1997 and 2012) are making, and being influenced by, social media content material that celebrates leisure time reasonably than profession objectives.

“Work would not actually function that a lot if you happen to have a look at way of life content material on social media at this time, it is way more about train and wellness,” explains Ms Göransson. “And if that is the image younger individuals have of what a standard life seems like, then, after all, possibly you are not so enthusiastic about spending eight hours in an workplace a day.”

However maybe the most important speaking level is whether or not the pattern is a response to the constraints of Sweden’s pioneering gender equality insurance policies.

Alongside Slovenia, Sweden has the highest proportion of working moms in Europe, but authorities statistics counsel ladies in heterosexual {couples} nonetheless do a bigger share of housekeeping and childcare than males.

In addition they take 70% of state-funded parental go away, and usually tend to go on sick go away for stress. In the meantime, though the earnings hole between women and men stays decrease than the EU common of 12.7%, it has stalled at around 10% since 2019.

Ms Larsson – who desires to have kids sooner or later – says her determination to turn into a stay-at-home girlfriend is partly because of watching older ladies battle to juggle a profession and homelife.

“I feel lots of ladies really feel burned out from their work,” she says. “And I simply consider my mom and her mom, my grandma, and my sister, everybody. They’re all the time so careworn.”

At Sweden’s state-funded Gender Equality Company, Peter Wickström, head of the division for coverage evaluation and monitoring, additionally believes the tender woman pattern may be considered as a “rational response” to the perceived “calls for” skilled by younger ladies.

Shoka Åhrman, an economist at considered one of Sweden’s largest pension funds, SPP, says she doesn’t imagine sufficient Swedish girlfriends or wives will give up work for it to have an effect on the nation’s economic system.

Nonetheless, she is working to lift consciousness amongst Swedish ladies that leaving the labour power (in addition to going half time) might affect their private funds, from financial savings and pensions, to wage ranges in the event that they return to work.

Ms Åhrman hopes the present tender woman debates will function a wake-up name to each politicians and companies alike that there’s nonetheless work to be completed to deal with ongoing structural inequalities in Sweden.

“I feel the supply of it, which is psychological well being points, burnouts and all that, is what’s extra worrying, as a result of that impacts not solely the few youthful women at this time that need to keep dwelling as tender women,” she says.