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Former Mormon says church trains women to be Tradwives with manual for personal progress�
Former Mormon Alyssa Grenfell accused her former church of “training” women to be Tradwives, a fairly new, and yet, ancient concept that calls for women to be homemakers and subservient to their husbands.
Largely because of its peculiar ways and stringent rules, the Mormon church has continued to be a huge topic of interest on the internet. Former Mormon Alyssa Grenfell (@alyssadgrenfell) is a TikTok authority on the subject, having earlier delved into the strange slang of the Mormon church.
The Tradwife trend is catching on, but it’s very controversial
Considering women have worked tirelessly for decades to provide a more equal world to future generations, it’s understandable that the Tradwife trend has rubbed some people the wrong way.
Tradwife, a term shortened from traditional wife, is just that. She demonstrates the values of a traditional wife through cleaning, child-rearing, and of course, obeying her husband.
Though Tradwives are not a phenomenon exclusive to the Mormon community, Alyssa said the church is an expert at “literally training” young women.
“Some of my earliest memories are people talking about who I was going to marry, what he would be like, and how many children I would have,” Alyssa said, shedding light on an experience many women could undoubtedly understand. “The icing on the Tradwife cake though was the manual for girls called Personal Progress.”
Reading an excerpt about the Personal Progress Progam, Alyssa said it taught them how “to become a faithful wife and mother and to strengthen your home and family.”
Most young girls aged 12 and up take part in the Personal Progress program, and upon completion, they are given a silver pendant necklace. In the program, girls were required to learn a skill like cooking or sewing, help plan family meals, and gather food.
Other activities included writing letters to your future husband, listing the qualities you want in a husband and basic household chores.
After completing the program, the girls then marry and begin having kids from the age of 18, Alyssa said.
Other former Mormons described the program as brainwashing
Though most of Alyssa’s comments were supportive, with some even sharing their own experiences, there is no denying the allure of the Tradwife life. On social media alone, many young women are doing away with modern feminity for a more traditional approach.
“I found my Personal Progress journal and realized there was no way a childhood like that produces normal, healthy, balanced people. I still remember seething with rage at 13, bc our YW activity was ironing shirts, while the YM activity that week was a lake outing,” one person revealed.
Another said: “I 100% remember making dinner for my family at an activity. Why, at the age of 12, was I being taught this??!! PTSD is in full effect.”
“I found it mind-blowing that we would make a list of things we would want in a husband,” a third wrote, to which Alyssa responded, “Yeah the letters to our future husbands writing activity was CRAZY.”
