Is modern-day feminism just another form of patriarchy?
I recently came across a reel while surfing the internet. The context of that reel was basically supposed to be women's empowerment. Although I am in favor of feminism and women's empowerment, I still couldn't quite digest the context of the reel.
The reel's caption was "When it's finally my time to be a boy-mom," and in that reel, a little girl around 3-4 years old was doing dishes, and then her mother came into the frame, took the little girl with her, and put
The comments exploded in predictable ways. Some women cheered it as "empowerment" and "breaking the cycle." Others, mostly men, screamed that she was "raising him gay" or turning him into a "beta." Both reactions are negative and toxic. One subtle. One Direct.
Think about it like this: For generations, girls were forced into domestic chores like dishwashing while boys got a free pass to play or "be boys." That was wrong, straight-up patriarchal nonsense. No doubt. When society finally started opening doors for girls (education, sports, careers), we didn't respond by restricting boys from school, making them wait until girls caught up, or sending girls first as payback.
We said: Both kids go. At the right age. Fairly.
No revenge. No score-settling. Just equal access to opportunity and responsibility.
So why, here? Why celebrate making the boy do the "girl chore" as if that's justice or empowerment?
That's not dismantling patriarchy, it's sustaining it in reverse.
That's not liberation. That's an eye for an eye, and we know where that leaves the world: blind.
Real equality looks different:
- Both kids are kids first. Let them play, explore, be little without chores being weaponized for a social media point.
- Introduce responsibilities gradually, based on age and ability, not gender. If the daughter is older, she might learn first, and the son follows naturally. If the son is older, the reverse. No, "he should or she should."
- Teach that chores are life skills everyone needs: cooking, cleaning, laundry, and emotional labor. No task is "pink" or "blue." They're just adulting.
- Model it without bias.
The viral "boy mom" trend often veers into weird territory anyway, moms "training" sons to cook, so "no woman has to deal with a useless husband." Some content crosses into low-key miandry dressed as feminism, or straight-up toxic masculinity backlash.
Raise kids who see household work as neutral, shared, and necessary, not as gendered revenge or a gotcha moment for likes. Teach empathy, capability, and fairness from the start. Let both the daughter and son enjoy their childhood without one being pulled away to make a viral statement.
Because true equality isn't about flipping who gets burdened; it's about making sure no one is burdened because of who they are.
What do you think this kind of content actually helps break cycles, or does it just keep the wheel spinning in the opposite direction?
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