Modern Women's Rejection of Adulthood

What's so wrong with being a woman-child?

Why can’t we just be girls forever? Many self-described feminist scholars, writers, and journalists have complained that Millenial & Gen Z women just don’t want to grow up. While this narrative claims to be concerned about the rising infantilization of women it just falls into the classic group of “People whining about harmless things women do”. 

Women are becoming more infantile. It's time to grow up girls.

Women Infantalizing Themselves for Tiktok views

Why Don't We Grow Up?

Rather than debate about women’s “self-infantilization” I challenge feminist writers to consider this–adulthood is traumatizing. The cost of living is growing with no end in sight. We were strong-armed into frivolous university programs and the hefty amount of debt to go with it. Many of us have been denied significant cultural milestones to transition out of adolescence. Homeownership, raising families and luxury vacations are reserved for a small few. There is no obvious clear benefit to adulthood. 

There’s an argument that women could spend their efforts trying to make things better rather than regressing in age. To that, I say, why? 

Peter Pan syndrome is not new. Boomers faced tons of maturity-based criticisms and are the first generation to live in post-war American prosperity. Plenty of free time to dedicate to hobbies and ‘frivolous’ pursuits far beyond the university. It’s also no coincidence that the sixties were also the first generation to have their formative years with accessible reproductive healthcare readily available. 

It doesn’t matter whether you consider yourself a feminist or not, there’s always someone asserting what women ought to do. Women ought to be in a boardroom doing their worst Gordon Gecko impression for reasons unknown. If you’re trad–she’d better be in a kitchen barefoot and pregnant. 

For the first time in history, a majority of Western women have the autonomy to travel freely, engage in any career they’d like, and opt out of motherhood. So what if we like to color, follow K-pop bands, or wear frilly dresses? Is that so awful?