1.) Used to describe a servile, compliant, submissive, spineless wife who happily does her husband's bidding and serves his every whim dutifully.
2.) Can also be used to describe a wife who is cookie-cutter & bland in appearance and behavior. Subscribes to a popular look and dares not deviate from that look.
This term is borrowed from the
fictional suburb of Stepford,
Connecticut in Ira Levin's 1972 novel, The Stepford Wives, later made into movies (in 1975 and 2004). In the story, men of this seemingly ideal town have replaced their wives with
attractive robotic dolls devoid of emotion or thought.
1.) She's such a stepford wife, I've seen her greet her husband at
the door after work with a beer and a kiss 4 days in a row!
2.) I just got back from the pta meeting, I've never seen so many stepford wives.
2b.) The SNL skit "Mom Jeans"
features women dressed to earn the SW
distinction.