The Wicker Husband Is Attentive, Devoted, and Made of Branches. The Bar Is...Interesting

“Monster smut” is a booming category, “Creature Cocks” are their own category of sex toys, and right now Wicker has a 94 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. And while I know people have always been into scales, wings, tentacles, and more, the actual material and texture aspect of wicker really has me stumped (pun definitely intended).I made it a point to watch Wicker as soon as it came out. The trailer looked fun and exciting and unlike anything I’ve seen before. And at the end of the day, I love a good romance—even when it is between woman and basket. But I couldn’t help but wonder if there was something deeper going on with the buzz around the movie. A referendum on modern romance, perhaps? But where do the branches fit in?“I think it says something quite revealing that being nice, considerate, and sexually attentive can be presented as the ultimate package,” Anna Richards, sex educator and founder of Frolicme.com—an ethical erotica site—tells Cosmopolitan. “These shouldn't be extraordinary qualities; they should be the foundations of a healthy relationship.”Black Bear PicturesShe explains that women want to feel desired, respected, and understood, without having to sacrifice their own in the process of attaining these things. And the husband in Wicker, played by Alexander Skarsgaard, is all of these things. He is attentive, he fixes things around the house (without being asked, most importantly), and he is a vigorous lover.“The fantasy might be an exaggerated fictional man, but the underlying desires are very real,” Richard says.But in the current state of heterosexual dating, the growing sentiment for a while now is that women are not getting these basic, bare-minimum attributes out of the men they date.And it's not just that women are struggling to find partners who meet their emotional or romantic needs. There's also the increasingly hostile culture surrounding modern masculinity and dating to contend with. According to Equimundo's State of American Men 2025 report, 61 percent of men agreed that feminism is about favoring women over men, 71 percent believed men could have their reputations destroyed simply for speaking their minds, and 45 percent subscribed to the idea that you need to be an "alpha male" to get a partner.And the attitudes aren't improving with younger generations: A 2026 global study by Ipsos and King's College London found that 31 percent of Gen-Z men believe a wife should always obey her husband, while 33 percent think husbands should have the final say on important decisions. Meanwhile, according to Pew Research Center, 66 percent of women under 50 who have used dating apps have experienced at least one form of unwanted behavior on the platforms, including unsolicited sexual messages, continued contact after rejecting someone, name-calling, or threats. So, between the manosphere's growing influence, the normalization of misogynistic attitudes, and the very real unpleasantness of dating straight men, it's perhaps not so surprising that women are finding romance in increasingly unconventional places.Couples therapist Doriel Jacov, JD, LCSW explains that the socialization of men today plays a role. From childhood, he says, boys are taught to be strong and self-sufficient, without being given much insight into meeting someone’s emotional needs. Women, on the other hand, are expected to do it all: be present, attuned to others’ emotions, and handle everything on their own.“Anger and overworking have historically been more socially accepted ways for men to express emotion than vulnerability,” Jacov says. “As a result, many women may find their emotional needs unmet, particularly as it relates to vulnerability and emotional presence.”So when you see the Skarsgaard take the time to learn from the Fisherwoman (Olivia Coleman), act on her needs, and prioritize her happiness, the fact that he’s made of branches really feels like an irrelevant, secondary detail.But, it really does need to be acknowledged that a made-to-order husband isn’t the healthiest thing, and not only because wicker isn’t super safe for your vagina. (I mean look what’s happening to the people who are in relationships with basically that, aka chat bots.) Deep down, we know that a great partnership includes two imperfect people working together to support one another through respect and love. But we can all learn from the Wicker Husband, regardless.“The Wicker Husband is gentle, attentive and devoted, and his tenderness unsettles the whole village,” therapist Silvia Dutchevici, LCSW says. This is because even the men of the village think that someone who is a good partner is a rare sighting!“That may be what so many of us are longing for: not a man under a woman’s control, but a man who is free to be kind, present, and vulnerable.”