The Making of the South Asian Mother-in-Law
The Beckham drama cracked open generational trauma and power plays many of us know too well.
On January 19, Brooklyn Beckham, the eldest son of soccer star David Beckham and Posh Spice Victoria Beckham, took to Instagram stories with a series of explosive allegations about why he was stepping away from his famous family: his mom canceling his wife’s custom wedding dress at the last minute, an “inappropriate” mother-son dance, and his mother called him “evil” for not seating her with him and his wife.
Obviously, the internet did its thing, churning out AI-generated images of Victoria doing cartwheels, and drawing parallels to the family estrangement in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. But the conversation struck a particular nerve for South Asians, because it tapped into something far greater than one messy, rich family. Saas-bahu drama is a dynamic so deeply ingrained, that it barely needs an introduction. We spoke to experts about why this trope persists to this day — and what it would take to move past it.