We're Chopped, Fam: A Shocking Percentage of Gen Z Thinks Wives Should 'Obey' Their Husbands

March 11, 2026

A recent study found something shocking: Nearly one-third of Gen Z men who responded to the survey believe women should “obey” their husbands.

Yes, obey. Not respect. Not love. Not trust. Obey. Their. Husbands.

The wildest part of all this? Gen Z men were found to be far more likely to hold these old-school ideas about decision-making power in a marriage than their baby boomer counterparts. So much for progress, right?

These findings come from IPSOS and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s Business School, King’s College London, and were released to align with — you can’t make this stuff up — International Women’s Day. It included a survey of 23,000 people in 29 countries….so yeah, that’s pretty comprehensive.

The findings are pretty alarming: Aside from the “obey your husband” of it all, the research also revealed that nearly a quarter of the men surveyed believe women should not appear too independent or self-sufficient, and 21 percent think women should never initiate sex (yes, really).

More than half of the Gen Z men surveyed believe they’re “expected to do too much” in the name of equality, and honestly that doesn’t even surprise me because…*gestures all around*.

Listen, anyone who spends any amount of time on TikTok knows that this type of ethos is out there. There’s the manosphere, there’s red pilling, and as a result, men are feeling some type of way about the role they’re expected to play in our world. And unfortunately, far too many women are carrying water for the patriarchy and boldly declaring themselves anti-feminist (all while profiting off of those messages, which is kind of the whole point of feminism). But instead of talking about how patriarchy is actually harming both men and women (are we ready for that conversation yet?), we’re sliding back into these weird, retrograde ideas about gender roles in relationships. And it’s….the exact opposite of progress.

Anyway, as the kids say…we’re chopped, fam. We’re chopped.