Sweden is known worldwide for its strong stance on gender equality, yet a growing trend among young women is celebrating the choice to leave work behind.
Vilma Larsson, 25, who previously worked in a grocery store, a care home, and a factory, quit her job a year ago to become a stay-at-home girlfriend, and says she has never felt happier. “My life is softer. I am not struggling. I am not very stressed,” she explains. While her boyfriend works remotely in finance, Larsson spends her days at the gym, enjoying coffee, or cooking. They travel frequently, currently spending the winter in Cyprus. Larsson shares her lifestyle on social media, amassing 11,000 followers on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. She embraces the “soft girl” identity, which focuses on a gentler, more feminine way of living rather than pursuing a career.
The “soft girl” lifestyle has been gaining popularity since the late 2010s and has become especially notable in Sweden, a country with decades of policies aimed at supporting dual-income households. Surveys, including one from Ungdomsbarometern, Sweden’s largest annual youth survey, show a rise in young people, particularly women aged 15 to 24, adopting the soft girl trend. Some younger girls even aspire to this lifestyle, with 14% of 7 to 14-year-olds identifying as soft girls.
The trend signals a shift away from the “girl boss” mentality, which has placed high expectations on women for success in all areas of life. Johanna Göransson, a researcher at Ungdomsbarometern, notes that while the number of women quitting work to live off their partners like Larsson is likely small, the trend has sparked considerable debate in Sweden, including discussions at political events and in the media.
Some feminists, such as Gudrun Schyman, co-founder of Sweden’s Feministiskt Initiativ party, argue that women relying on their partners financially is a setback for gender equality. She believes young women may be influenced by Sweden’s right-wing government and the broader populist trends in Europe and the U.S., and that they lack an understanding of the struggles women faced in the past to secure rights like working and economic independence.
On the other side of the political spectrum, the Sweden Democrats have expressed support for the soft girl trend. Denice Westerberg, spokesperson for the party’s youth wing, asserts that people should have the freedom to choose their lifestyle and that Sweden still provides ample opportunities for women to pursue careers.
The rise of the soft girl trend reflects broader global work culture shifts, such as “quiet quitting,” where people refrain from overextending themselves in their jobs. Young women, especially Generation Z, are increasingly creating social media content focused on leisure, wellness, and balance rather than career ambitions. Göransson believes this shift in focus is contributing to the popularity of the soft girl lifestyle.
Sweden’s reputation for work-life balance is evident in its policies, including six weeks of paid vacation and low rates of long working hours. However, despite these benefits, women in heterosexual couples still do a larger share of housework and childcare, take most parental leave, and are more likely to experience stress-related sick leave. Although Sweden’s gender pay gap is narrower than the EU average, it has remained stagnant at about 10% since 2019.
Larsson, who plans to have children in the future, says her choice to leave work behind is influenced by watching older women struggle with balancing work and family life. She reflects, “I think a lot of women feel burned out from their work,” pointing to the stresses faced by her mother, grandmother, and sister.
At Sweden’s Gender Equality Agency, Peter Wickström, head of policy analysis, sees the soft girl trend as a rational response to the demands placed on young women in a society where gender equality has been a long-standing goal.
