Is "tradwives" merely a trendy term for a traditional stay-at-home mother role?

Your kid wants a bowl of granola for breakfast so you… make granola from scratch? If you’re scoffing at that sentence, you’d better believe that it’s not something unheard of in 2024. In fact, there is a new crop of women who pride themselves on domesticity, and are portraying this lifestyle in full glory on
social media.

They call themselves “tradwives” – or traditional wives – a movement consisting mostly of conservative millennial and Gen Z women in the West, who are anti-workforce and pro-homemaking.

In this case, homemaking includes making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from real peanuts, strawberry jam from fresh strawberries, and bread from the dough they kneaded – or even milking cows from their farms so they can make their own butter and cheese.

For the uninitiated, a “tradwife” champions “traditional” values like “submitting” to her husband, but what’s ironic is that while they’re against traditional employment, their rebellion relies heavily on their husbands’ ability to financially support an entire household. It stresses the privilege underlying their lifestyle choice, highlighting the socioeconomic dynamics that shape their perceived autonomy and independence.

Back to our earlier reference of making granola from scratch. At the centre of this brouhaha is 22-year-old Nara Smith, the glamorous granola-maker and mother-of-three who is married to Mormon-born model Lucky Blue Smith.

Together with other tradwives, including Utah-based influencer Hannah Neeleman (a former Mormon) with over 10 million followers, and San Diego housewife Alexia Delarosa (she makes her own butter) – all of them have faced criticism for allegedly presenting a false image of their picture-perfect 1950s housewife lifestyle.

For the many women who are advocating the values of financial stability and security, this tradwife phenomenon can seem like we’re taking a few steps back to antiquated gender stereotypes. Many, including journalist and author Jo Piazza, have posited that it sends the wrong message to impressionable girls, who might romanticise the idea of giving up their careers and depending completely on their husbands, thus skewing the power dynamic in the relationship.

Besides, if these women are consistently documenting their lives on social media, whether it’s showcasing their latest recipes or talking about how they are living the perfect life while ironing their husbands’ clothes, one might question if they genuinely embrace traditional roles, or if their portrayal is influenced by their obsession with their social media virality.