The Tradwife Dilemma

Last year, on social-media accounts with names like Ballerina Farm, and in online magazines such as Evie, a new type of woman emerged to bedevil cultural observers: the “tradwife.” Depending on your sensibility, she was either a welcome example of women embracing traditional feminine roles in the household, or proof that the patriarchy had finally triumphed and forced countless women back into the kitchen to serve the needs of men and children.

But the tradwife was, in fact, not new. Popularizations of traditional womanhood have been around for decades; social-media platforms merely gave them more extensive reach and profitability. In feminist terms, however, the #tradwife is confusing. These women who embrace the appearance of regressive gender roles are also modern entrepreneurs, some of whom earn a great deal of money for their content. While traditional in appearance, many are countercultural—nay, almost hippie-like—in behavior. One of TikTok’s most successful tradwife influencers, the former model Nara Smith, named her children Whimsy Lou, Rumble Honey, and Slim Easy, and talks about wanting to grow her own food. But she looks like a Stepford Wife, always impeccably dressed in carefully curated videos that show her kneading dough or making cheese from scratch in her Texas kitchen. Similarly, the online magazine Evie markets itself as a modern, empowering outlet for Gen Z women—one that hawks wellness apps that track menstrual cycles but that also sells retro long dresses and features articles such as “How to Give a Lap Dance: A Step-by-Step Guide for Wives.”

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