On the traditional role of women

I will admit that on the spectrum of politics and moral ideology, I tend towards the conservative side.

It's not a conscious decision, but rather a slow and passive realisation in my twenties. It showed itself in the way I reacted to social issues and breaking news, in the nuances I formed in my head whenever I'd reblogged something 'progressive' on Tumblr or argued a contrarian point on reddit, and the instinctive pull I feel towards older, more traditional values.

One aspect that I feel strongly about is the role of women. When I say this, I mean the role of women with respect to men, and not the role of women in society. We have come a very long way since the 20th century and shaping, normalising, and celebrating the fact that women can be scientists, CEOs, and engineers, for example.

Nonetheless, regardless of her educational attainment, career aspirations, or inborn liberties to choose her life as she pleases, the traditional expectation for a woman is to cast aside her career, stand in the shadow of her husband, and embrace her role as wife, mother, and homemaker.

St. Paul in particular did not mince words—'Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord,' he wrote in his letter to the Ephesians, 'As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything' (Ephesians 6:21–24).

This, in modern context, does not sit well with many people, especially people who were not particularly raised Christian or with traditional values. In liberal spaces, I've seen people make abrasive comments on religion—Christianity as an example—citing its oppressive, misogynistic nature and lamenting the ignorant, uneducated women who still fall prey to these patriarchal notions that have oppressed their kind for centuries. 'Problematic' is the preferred word, showing that while one means well and does wish ill on any person harbouring these views, they wholeheartedly believe that such views are old, wrong, and need to be snuffed out.

As a wife who hopes to be a mother someday, I want to fulfil this traditional role. I want to serve my husband and submit to him—with his full consent and understanding, of course, that I act on my own agency and will not put him in the position of reluctant oppressor. Pedantic, but I do have to say it.

If you know me personally, either from university or from work, then you would know this doesn't seem to be like me. I graduated with honours with a Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Engineering from one of the most prestigious universities in my country, and I have a comfortable and thriving career in tech.

It almost seems a bit hypocritical for me to write this all, whilst sitting at my home office and typing this up in my mechanical keyboard and extra monitor. But I really do mean it—I hope to fulfil the role of traditional housewife, mother, and homemaker someday.

It's not today, and it will take a process for myself and my husband to transition to it, if we do at all. But if you'd like to sit down with me and hear me out, I'll explain all the reasons and rationale for why I think this way:

• What is a traditional wife?

• The vocation of motherhood

• The educated wife

• The vocation of marriage

• On working mothers

I aim to publish each line-item as a separate post. Stay tuned.