Woman reveals the most annoying question that only moms get asked at grocery stores

Women have overcome social barriers to claim their rightful place in the workplace and other spaces, but society still has a long way to go before gender equality can be achieved. In a bid to start conversations needed to truly break the glass ceiling, book editor and writer Katie, better known as @katiewolfwrites on TikTok, highlighted problematic questions that are thrown at women when they step out in public without their children.

In the video, she talked about her trip to the grocery store where she was asked a question which was seemingly harmless, but also made her realize how it was something that her husband would never face. She started by mentioning, "I was at the grocery store checking and the woman saw that I had some baby items in my cart, she's like, 'Oh how old is your baby?'" In response to the question, the woman said that her child was six months old. "And the woman was like, 'Does your baby like coming to the grocery store with you'" Katie added. She then said how her child does like coming to the grocery store and how she has brought her a few times.

This is when the other woman looked around and asked where the child is at the moment and who is watching her, to which Katie replied, "Her dad, she's home." Katie then realized how no one would ever ask these questions to her husband. "Like if he were at the grocery store checking out and had baby items, and nobody would ask him 'Oh where's you baby now? Who is watching her?' It was fine, the woman is very nice about it but it is like, why would you only ask moms these questions?"

Many viewers took to the comment section and shared anecdotes which further confirmed that women are still getting asked questions based on the restrictive gender norms. "I was asked this by the nurse at my doctor's appointment. Why do I need to explain where my children are at MY doctor's appointment?! I responded that that was a very gendered question. Like WHY?" @island_bc wrote. Another user @laurendelbosque_ talked about an incident that happened with her husband, "My husband gets so upset when moms say the dad is "babysitting,” he’s like "….but that’s their own kid?" Meanwhile @taytergate recollected, "When mine was a baby I went to my brother's wedding without my kid's mother. I had so many people, mostly women say "Oh you're brave."

On the other hand, there were many who seemed to understand where the qurstion was coming from, "Babies should be with their mothers at that vital age and it’s normal for them to be with their mothers a lot at that age. It’s not that deep," @taylorswiftcultist added. "Because moms are the caretakers. That’s just how it is," @tessieDog1616 asserted. 

Even though a trend of more involved fathers is taking shape in America, women in still generally take care of their babies more than their partners. Back in 2021, a study by the Center for Global Development, revealed that women took 173 additional hours of unpaid child care leave last year, compared to 59 additional hours for men. Not only that, the study also revealed how during the COVID-19 pandemic women lost an estimated income of $800 billion due to increased demand for them to look after the household. 

You can follow Katie (@katiewolfwrites) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.