In a society in which a man’s worth is tied to his ability to bring home money and be
emotionally distant, malewife is the rejection of this norm. Malewifes are going to be there for their spouse, they’re going to step up and take on traditionally women’s roles and they’re doing it because they want to, because they like it, and because dividing chores into pink vs blue is wrong.
Has it's origins in
nsfw content as an
escapist fantasy for tired horny women who want a gentle man to help carry the burden.
And until recently the world “malewife” was something claimed by men, something men wanted to be called, and something that men who used the term wanted to reference them.
Whereas housewife is a word that holds its origins in forced
subservience, malewife is a term that is showcasing men “picking up
the torch” in regards to housework- where housewife is socially forced, and girlboss is reversed social compliance, malewife is the rejection of social expectations.
Please see this wonderful post by the-ghost-king on Tumblr for a more full explanation to the meaning and history of the word (credits to them):
Please search "the-ghost-king" malewife through google, the link should be titled "he/hmmm — the term malewife isn't a very nice term" it's on tumblr.
This post explains the term much better than the shortened definition above.