Why I fear this anti-feminist trend (and vou should too)

Viral videos of 'stayat-home' girlfriends enjoying household chores are all too Stepford Wives-ish, says Flora Gill

THIS week I've watched dozens of videos showing the picturesque lives of the 'Stay-at-Home Girlfriend'. You might be imagining these as grainy black-and-white tapes I've fished out of some library archive - Fifties propaganda for future stay-athome wives - but in reality it's a current trend spawning thousands of viral videos on social media. The hashtag has had nearly 200 million views, has been used 165 million times and raised alarm bells among sane, rational people.

The videos show mostly white, young, child-free women taking their followers through a day in their life as a 'Stay-atHome Girlfriend'. They're all beautifully shot and peaceful, with soft narration over serene music like the kind used to calm you down in a doctor's waiting room.

Let me paint the scene: a typical video shows a young woman waking up leisurely, stretching languorously and opening the blinds. She makes herself a green smoothie, carefully works through a 12-step skincare routine before beginning the day's activities - usually some combination of Pilates, journaling, cooking, and shopping for designer items with wads of cash left by their other halves. One video by @asshliciouss with nearly half a million views starts with a boyfriend leaving money so that she can pay off her credit cards, while another video begins with a young woman saying: "I got all my household duties done nice and early so he decided to take me out today" and Stay At Home Fiancee @septoctnov has made the lifestyle her entire brand. Influencers like @haleyybaylee have also shared parody videos, called things like 'A Day in the Life of a Stay At Home Billionaire Girlfriend, to her 2.4 million TikTok followers.