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Abstract

Globalizing anti-globalism and modernizing the anti-modern, Tradwives are communities of right-wing women who commercialize social media to commodify traditional heteronormative renditions of femininity that are equal parts ideology and aesthetic. As social media influencers, Tradwives grow social networks and expand audiences by monetizing right-wing ideologies and curating particular versions of wife and mother. A netnographic analysis designed to understand online cultures and communications was used to observe thirty-six Tradwife social media profiles over a 10-month period in 2022. Employing Koestler’s Theory of Holarchies, four key findings or “holons” comprised a holography or representation of Tradwife culture captured at a certain point in time. The Tradwife Landscape explored these women across a right-wing landscape, Cross-platform Influencers, outlined Tradwives operating across a variety of social media platforms; Feminine not Feminist, discussed Tradwives’ (anti)feminist standpoints; and The Tradwife Side-Hustle, examined the monetization of Tradwife culture. As an alive and growing ecosystem, Tradwife subculture offers supportive and empowered spaces for women wishing to take up roles as archetypal wives and mothers within highly conservative lifestyles. As agents of Tradwife subculture and wider right-wing communities, Tradwives raise important questions about gender and gendered relationships, sexuality, legal practices, public policy, and political systems. Above all else, Tradwives offer comments on the autonomy and agency women have in their everyday lives.

Keywords

tradwives online cultures right-wing extremism social media Netnography

Introduction

As a new social media-based subculture, Tradwives skillfully navigate theories of social media and influencer marketing across a variety of platforms to commodify and (re)produce right-wing ideologies. Sharing our lives online through social media has become a fundamental tool for connecting worldwide, accessing information, and carving out livelihoods, with more than half the world’s population now estimated to be active social media users (Chaffey 2024). In contemporary online settings, right-wing women are increasingly making their private lives public in taking on positions of significant influence and visibility as Tradwives. These women showcase and commercialize traditional heteronormativity through promotion of a relatively restrictive and hierarchical ordering of gender (Sitler-Elbel 2021), prioritizing women as wives and mothers (Proctor 2022).

Leading online communities of thousands to millions, Tradwives capitalize on contemporary social media marketing strategies to co-opt and retrench patriarchy in both traditional and creative new ways (Sykes and Hopner 2023). Tradwives’ aesthetic curations and ability to consistently produce relatable content have brought public attention to this online subculture and manufactured their success. Firmly cemented in influencer culture and sharing a message that fundamentally challenges the increasingly demanding roles many women have in the 21st century (as mothers, wives, and career women), Tradwife subculture and the call to action by agents of right-wing femininity appears to strongly resonate with an engaged corner of social media.

Netnography as an ethnographic approach designed for a “. . .cultural analysis of social media” provided us with the methodological tools to explore the intersections of culture, ideology, and technology (Kozinets 2019, 262). Such an approach recognizes the centrality of technoculture or the “communication technologies that are used in the mediated construction of culture” (Green 2001, 11). Through a technocultural lens, we were able to observe and form an analysis of the social arrangements, norms, common values, and ideological circulations of Tradwife subculture that are brought into being and held in place by the network of communications known as social media.

Observing the social media presence of thirty-six Tradwives over a 10-month period meant we engaged in a one-sided parasocial interaction (Lou 2021) somewhat akin to Tradwife followers. Through the conscious publication of their life, Tradwives curate and present to an audience who they know is there but that they never see. To make sense of the material we collected from our observations of Tradwives and their subculture, we draw upon Koestler’s Theory of Holarchies (1967) as our frame. Koestler’s work allowed us to conceptualize how the different parts (holons) of Tradwife subculture are brought together to produce Tradwife subculture as a whole (holarchy).

Drawing on the material collected from our observations of Tradwife subculture, this paper explores the dynamic interactions of right-wing ideology, gender, and commodification in online spaces. Offering visibility to communities of women who have historically been in the shadow of their male counterparts, this paper presents an in-depth analysis of Tradwife subculture. We show how these women are fast gaining prominence as right-wing social media influencers and are far more than just wives and mothers.

Tradwives as Ideological Agents

A portmanteau of the words “traditional” and “wife,” Tradwife as a concept has existed for decades; however, contemporary understandings gained traction from a 2020 BBC interview, where well-known British Tradwife Alena Pettitt described her lifestyle as “submitting to and spoiling my husband like it’s 1959” (BBC Stories 2020). Although popularity is evident across much of the English-speaking world (Proctor 2022), the number of active Tradwives remains unknown. What is known, however, is that the global success of contemporary Tradwives is driven by clever use of social media and unique positioning as online influencers. Embracing biological differences between men and women, Tradwives advocate for gender roles that cast a division of public and private life, whereby men hold social and political power, and women are, for the most part, confined to the home as wife and mother (Proctor 2022). The continuation of patriarchy—and, by extension, heteropatriarchy upholds the “. . .social, political, and economic system in which heterosexual men are the dominant group in a society or culture” (Kelley and Arce-Trigatti 2021, 256).

Alongside traditional role positioning, the right-wing ideologies or belief systems these women hold are typically underpinned by reverence for individual liberty, limited government intervention in political and economic systems, nationalism, heterosexuality, and nuclear families, and the sanctity of unborn life. More extreme iterations of right-wing belief systems further taken up by some Tradwife communities include fascism, anti-LGBTQIA+ activism, antisemitism, chauvinism, xenophobia, anti-globalism, nativism, and anti-immigration, as well as racial or ethnic supremacy. There are several different possibilities to map a continuum of severity around extreme right-wing ideological positions; we use three commonly used groupings: Conservative Right, Alt-Lite, and Alt-Right (Berlet 2004).

Conservative Right

The Conservative Right is the most extreme example of conservatism; however, it holds the least extreme right-wing beliefs when compared to Alt-Lite and the Alt-Right. In Eurocentric cultures, this group generally values social institutions such as organized religion, the military, nuclear family structures, property rights, and the nation-state. Traditional authority and economic freedoms are cherished, and there is a rejection of progressivism, feminism, as well as extensive social reform and government assistance (Kerlinger 2022). Conservative Right women typically follow faith-based scriptures literally and commit to predominantly private lives firmly grounded in the home as wives and mothers.

Christian conservative women actively oppose feminism as a violation of the Bible passage (1 Corinthians 11:3), which reminds Christians that “. . .the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God” (Coste 2010). Ruth Bell Graham was a quintessential Conservative Right woman led by her husband, American evangelist Billy Graham, who quietly and loyally bolstered his ministry while tending to home and children with total commitment. Characterized by her husband as a wife whose “. . . life is ruled by the Bible more than any person I’ve ever known. That’s her rule book, her compass. Her disposition is the same all the time—very sweet and very gracious and charming. When it comes to spiritual things, my wife has had the greatest influence on my ministry.” Her eldest son described Ruth’s motherhood saying, “Mother never went to bed until all of us children were back in for the night. She has that bright, cheerful personality, and I believe it comes from her daily walk with the Lord” (Ruth Bell Graham 2024).

Alt-Right

The Alt-Right, an abbreviation of the alternative right, is the most extreme and racist iteration of right-wing positioning. Also referred to as “white nationalists,” “extreme right,” or “far-right,” and fundamentally connected to race, Richard Spencer describes; “the Alt-Right [as] identity politics for white people” (Ebner 2020). Labeled an insurgent identitarian movement, the Alt-Right are anti-globalist, anti-establishment, anti-democratic, anti-Semitic, and heteropatriarchal (Berlet 2004). Women in the Alt-Right walk a contested line between private and public life (Campion 2020). There are factions in the Alt-Right who support notions of “White Sharia,” where women are excluded from public life, instead confined to the home (Hawley 2018) as “wombs for the cause or caretakers of men” (Mattheis 2018, 129). Yet, increasingly, Alt-Right women are positioned at the front of extreme right-wing movements as a soft face and palatable front for recruitment (Darby 2017). These women are both authors and disseminators of gender-focused Alt-Right propaganda and active marketers of feminized white supremacy that is pointedly anti-feminist (Mattheis 2018). Prominent Alt-Right American woman, Lana Lokteff argues “. . . in these times, us women must multi-task and rise to new heights as the enemy strikes on every level. We have to be lovers, mothers, friends, teachers, and now, shield maidens ready to go to battle” (Lokteff 2017, 13:17).

Alt-Lite

The Alt-Lite (also referred to as “Dissident Right”) describes the intersection between Conservative Right and the Alt-Right. This group is dissident against both progressive “leftist” influences in society and the Conservative Right, who are considered to have fallen short of upholding extreme right-wing ideologies (ADL 2017). Typically promoting a hard version of nationalism, the Alt-Lite describes those who are protective of both the nation-state and the superiority of Eurocentric or Western culture, which also brings people of color into the more extreme right-wing fold. Consequently, the Alt-Lite draws boundaries (albeit sometimes blurry) at embracing white supremacy/identitarian politics and antisemitism (Moffitt 2023). Although sharing the anti-feminist and gender-essentialist views of the Conservative and Alt-Right, Alt-Lite women are more likely to participate in public life within right-wing oriented political or media-related careers. The Alt-Lite may well offer the most uncontested freedoms for right-wing women in terms of possibilities for economic independence and participation in political and social life. In her promotion of Western culture and identity, Candace Owens challenges democratic political correctness as an anti-feminist icon (Olsen 2021). Candace Owens cuts a controversial figure as an extreme right Black woman. Her open criticisms of the Black Lives Matter movement of 2021 have been linked to ideas of her presenting a black front or “stooge” for white supremacy and white America (Attiah 2022; Kansiime 2022). Positioning her as Alt-Lite shows how Owens privileges notions of Eurocentric culture and nations rather than whiteness to be the linchpin for successful societies and cultures, especially by holding a central focus on traditional roles and family structures. In her opinion, it is the parent’s role to determine “. . . what’s right and wrong; in reality, that is the role of your mother and your father at the head of the dinner table. The collapse of the Black family has led to the destruction of everything else in terms of Black culture, economics, and intellect. Everything falls when the family is not intact” (Tharpe 2024).

Tradwives re(produce) their membership in right-wing communities and positionalities. Although they differ in ideological expression, Tradwives are all underpinned and structured by varying adherences to shared right-wing belief systems, the most prominent being a commonly shared rejection of mainstream feminist histories and standpoints. Feminist theorists agree that we are currently riding the “fourth-wave” of feminism (understood as the online progression of third-wave initiatives), which leans into the rise of online feminist advocacy, seen in the “me too” movement and “call out” and “cancel culture” (Zimmerman 2017).

Through acts of publicly naming and shaming misogyny, sexism, and gendered discrimination, “calling out” forms of oppression were popularized through the 2017 #MeToo movement. This movement worked to unify diverse groups of women against discourses and practices of toxic femininity and acts of sexual harassment and violence (Diaz 2022), providing an online space for healing (Khomami 2017). Evolving from call-out culture is “cancel culture,” which illustrates the power of social media to demand change (Pearson 2021), and shed light on issues related to minority politics and identities, all of which break new ground for inclusive spaces, shared learning, and the globalization of ideas. Hallmarked by inclusivity and online advocacy, key players in the fourth-wave of feminism have rallied to empower women, end sexual harassment, and provide workplace safety, gender parity, reproductive rights, and racial equity (Gilmore 2018).

In contrast, anti-feminist Tradwives discuss the perils of first, second, and third-wave feminism as oppressive and as devaluing ideas and practices of traditional womanhood, with fourth-wave feminism specifically seen as exalting a “man-hating ideology striving for female superiority” (Lokteff 2019, 1). Some Tradwives have reclaimed “toxic femininity”¹ as an anti-feminist statement, behind which are beliefs that feminism has created a damaging culture of hatred toward men (McCann 2022). Through reworking ideas of toxic femininity as an alternative anti-feminist discourse, these anti-feminist women position highly traditional views of homemaking and wifehood as authentic femininities (McCann 2022).

This renunciation of mainstream feminism and reimagining of toxic femininity can be theorized through notions of “Choice Feminism,” a contemporary form of feminist theory that offers agency of choice. Within this theory, the choices women make about their wages, work, or home life are inherently feminist (Ferguson 2010). Ultimately, feminism is seen as exercising the ability and individual capacity of women to make their own lifestyle choices, with oppression viewed as an inability to choose. From this perspective, exercising freedom of choice, as a stay-at-home wife and mother is equally as feminist as a career businesswoman (Tong 2009).

Tradwives as Social Media Influencers

Tradwives exercise and market freedom of choice to promote traditional femininity, and negate mainstream feminism through online identities that are equal parts ideology and aesthetic. Contemporary Tradwives are driven by clever use of social media and their unique positioning as cultural influencers. Defined as social media celebrities, influencers have a unique connection with their followers that makes them highly engaging. While there is much debate on what turns a regular social media user into an influencer, the ability to tell a compelling visual story, monetization of social media presence, and the creation of aesthetically pleasing content are key elements (Duffy and Hund 2019). Research further suggests that the influencers’ physical attractiveness, opinion leadership, and credibility of messaging impact intentions toward influencer recommendations and, subsequently, the success of the influencer (Farivar and Wang 2022). For those with large social media followings, “influencing” is a career trajectory that allows individuals to monetize their unique online identity, using the publication of their private lives to sell merchandise and market brands (Kirkpatrick 2016). There are varying ways social media influencers are classified based on the size and significance of their reach. These include “nano” and “micro” for smaller profiles and “macro” and “celebrity” for profiles of notable status (Kay et al 2020; Porteous 2018). To quantify, the like and/or follower ratio² is often referred to with the audience of celebrity/macro influencers greater than 100,000, micro influencers more than 10,000, and nano influencers less than 10,000 (Nizri 2022).

With over half the world’s population estimated to be active on social media (Chaffey 2024; Statista 2022a) and many platforms facilitating unfiltered dissemination of views and opinions, Tradwives exploit the virality³ of this medium to promote various right-wing ideologies, beliefs, and news—however, regulation is increasing (Ganesh and Bright 2020). Although small (often fringe) platforms like 4CHAN and Gab remain largely unregulated and home to more extreme right-wing rhetoric, large platforms like Facebook and Instagram have started applying layers of regulation and access to content (Corlett 2022).

Tradwives utilize four popular forms of social media to broadcast ideologies, grow their audiences, and monetize their lifestyles. They use (1) networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter(X) to build connections with their followers; (2) sharing platforms including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to distribute content such as videos or photographs; (3) social discussion forums such as Reddit to share and discuss perspectives on different types of topics, opinions, and news; and (4) conversational communication platforms such as WhatsApp, and Telegram to engage in direct and personal communication.

With social media dominated by online relationships, virtual word-of-mouth marketing (also known as electronic word-of-mouth marketing (eWOM) and digital word-of-mouth marketing) is fast becoming the most successful way for brands to market their products on social media (Kirkpatrick 2016). Through communities of hyper-engaged individuals, brands and businesses capitalize on influential profiles and share brand messaging in the form of sponsored content (Boone 2020). For those with large social media followings, “influencing” is a career trajectory that monetizes the publication of private lives through selling, merchandising, and promoting brands. Through influencers, brands have been found to trigger eleven times more return on investment than traditional forms of advertising (Kirkpatrick 2016).

The virality and transnational character of social media have afforded Tradwives an influencer status and platform to challenge the demanding roles of modern women in society, and a space to rework patriarchy in both traditional and contemporary ways. Tradwives offer a gendered snapshot into the growing influence and the online and offline presence of right-wing ideologies within national and international landscapes. Using an anti-feminist ideology, a commodification of right-wing expression, and social media as a broadcast tool, Tradwife subculture warrants examination.

Method

Developed specifically for the online world, Netnography is a form of ethnography which explores the melding of technology and culture in a sense-making project of the “. . .various identities, practices, values, rituals, hierarchies, and other sources and structures of meaning that are influenced, created by, or expressed through technology consumption” (Kozinets 2019, 621). Netnographies, as a form of naturalistic inquiry, examine the different technocultual landscapes of social media as mediated assemblies of culture produced and consumed through technology. Online communities, subcultures, and cultures are treated as rich, dynamic, and living entities probed in-situ as they naturally occur online and as they are broadcast through computer and other tech-device-mediated communication. Online uploads such as text, video or film, photographs, graphics, and podcasts posted on social media platforms are viewed as connective tissue, which holds networks of communications together that (re)produce communities, subcultures, and cultures online (Kozinets, Dolbec, and Earley 2014). Tradwife communities are an online and contemporary subculture formed by sets of formal and informal cultural norms, values, and beliefs underpinned by right-wing ideologies and bound together by the network of communications known as social media.

Data Collection

Tradwives present themselves as social media influencers with information shared on their profiles designed for a public audience. The data was unobtrusively sourced from publicly available and readily accessible sites on which the author could reasonably expect their content to be consumed by strangers. There was no engagement with Tradwives during the research process. The total data collection period lasted ten months, from January to October 2022, as we sought immersion and intimacy with the Tradwife platforms that would enable familiarity and allow for depth as well as breadth (Kozinets 2020) of data collection and analysis processes.

The data collection process encompassed two phases of Netnography research: investigation and immersion (Kozinets 2020). The investigation period involved the selection of social media platforms, and selection of the Tradwife profiles. During this phase, two investigative approaches were employed (1) reconnoitering, which actively mapped the research territory (Tradwife communities), and (2) scouting or searching through the online sites using the selection criteria defined by the research question and through mapping the research territory.

The second phase of immersion involved a media overlook throughout the data collection process. This involved ongoing media awareness and attention surrounding the Tradwife movement, noted in an immersion journal, which tracked search procedures, challenges, insights, notes, and influential findings throughout the course of the research. Reflective immersion notes derived from this phase of data collection ultimately facilitated the development of a deeper understanding of the Tradwife community as a subculture: the unique language used, social norms adhered to, topics discussed (and how they changed across platform and profiles), and how Tradwives built and maintained their online communities.

Reconnoitering and Scouting

From the outset, our ethnography developed as an iterative process in which each new piece of information (Hine 2000) was used to shape criteria to first define Tradwives, and then to map across their social media platforms. Defining criteria for Tradwives was constructed by drawing on previous gray literature, academic research, and an initial scouting process across popular social media sites to identify further commonalities from self-identified Tradwife profiles. These criteria encompassed five key factors: (1) anti-feminism, (2) homemaking, (3) traditional gender roles, (4) evidence of affiliation with at least one position of extreme right-wing ideology (Conservative Right, Alt-Lite, and Alt-Right), and (5) evidence of social media influencing. A list of the most popular social media platforms active in 2022 was obtained from Statista (2022b) for investigation (Supplemental Online Appendix A). This list included regulated platforms such as Facebook and Instagram and less regulated platforms such as Telegram and BitChute. Employing the Tradwife criteria, each platform was systematically scouted for Tradwives using a combination of three methods: (1) keyword searches, (2) direct profile search of identified Tradwife figures, and (3) through the searching of followers of already identified Tradwife accounts.

A selection criterion was then applied to each platform in order to determine the most useful platforms that showed the depth and breadth of Tradwife subculture. This involved rating the Tradwife content against five key elements (1) relevance (the extent to which the content relates to the research question), (2) activity (the regularity of content shared), (3) diversity (evidence of differing expressions of right-wing ideologies), (4) richness (the level of insight gained), and (5) extremity (whether the content is Conservative Right, Alt-Lite, or Alt-Right).

Applying these criteria resulted in the selection of four mainstream social media platforms: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter(X), and YouTube for the collection of the primary data. Although not as widely used as the four mainstream platforms, the final dataset also included personal websites or blogs from the selected Tradwives, TikTok, and relevant material/content from popular right-wing communication platforms. These included fringe platforms like Telegram, Reddit, Gab.com, Minds, Bitchute, and Rumble. It was important to include fringe and unregulated platforms, given the extreme nature of some of the content posted by Tradwives, with many mainstream platforms choosing to ban or censor extremist content.

Tradwife Profiles

Following selection, Tradwife profiles were collated, noting recorded names, geographic locations, the social media handles of each platform a single Tradwife was active on, follower count on each platform, and the public biography or “about me” section of their profile/s. We selected Tradwives who had at least 10,000 followers/subscribers on at least one of their profiles to capture both micro and macro (Nizri 2022) Tradwife social media influencers. The only exception to this was Hearth and Helm, a group account included for their contribution to understanding a Pagan Tradwife perspective. Mainstream social media platforms (i.e., Instagram and Facebook) were monitored daily. Fringe and thread-based platforms (i.e., Telegram, Gab) were monitored on a weekly basis. Reddit was also monitored for threads about Tradwives (i.e., the Red Pill Women Reddit thread). Video-based channels (Bitchute, YouTube, RedIceTV) were scouted monthly. Tradwives on TikTok were also analyzed bimonthly for context due to the dramatic growth this platform experienced during the research period. Engaging with the Tradwife profiles daily, weekly, and monthly allowed a sense of “real-time” engagement (Hine 2000) with not only the individual women but with their dynamic online communities and subculture which was enacted across the social media platforms. There is no real way of determining authenticity of these women, or whether they actually existed; instead, we took an “. . . empirical focus on how, where and when identities and realities were made available on the internet” (Hine 2000, 119). We found ourselves becoming engaged with the online curations of these women’s lives. Some of their worlds were completely unfamiliar to us as we came to understand their nuanced political theories and ideological beliefs, and as we witnessed their profound relationships with God or Deities. We observed their struggles and celebrations as they navigated their wife and mother roles, often managing large families and significant responsibilities—alongside the everyday rhythms of cooking, gardening, and cleaning.

Over the ten-month data collection period, a total of thirty-six profiles were identified across the three extreme right-wing positions (Conservative Right, Alt-Lite, Alt-Right). While most of the Tradwives appeared to be based in the United States, women originating from Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Aotearoa New Zealand, are also included in the final dataset. From the known and perceived age of these women, three age ranges could be determined: under 25, 25–45, and over 50. Twitter(X), Instagram, and personal blogs/websites were the most popular platforms for Tradwives, followed by Facebook and YouTube.

It became evident during the data collection process that within the three extreme right-wing positions, Tradwives further directed their social media influencing through particular identities found within different facets of society such as religion, politics, counterculture expression, and anti-government movements such as modern militia organizations (see Table 1). We also used these identities for categorical purposes. Of the thirty-six profiles selected, thirty-one were individual Tradwife identities, and five were classified as Tradwife group identities (i.e., profiles with no clear owner or multiple owners). The complete Tradwife Dataset is shown in Supplemental Online Appendix B.

Table 1.

Organizing the Tradwife Dataset.

Tradwife Identities	Conservative Right	Alt-Lite	Alt-Right
Total women	17	10	9
Religious	12	4	2
Political	5	3	4
Milita			1
Counterculture		3	2

Analytic Approach

Koestler’s Theory of Holarchies (1967) was used for analysis as it enables in-depth and nuanced ethnographic understandings of online communities, subcultures, and cultures. This includes examining (1) the dynamic nature of community interactions, ideology, geographic location, and practices, (2) the human and non-human elements that influence the presentation of online communities, and (3) the external sociopolitical forces at play within a community. Through this analytic approach, identification is made of the different individual parts (holons) of an online community, subculture, or culture and how these parts or holons are brought together to express the community, subculture, or culture as a whole (holarchy). The holarchy is an interpreted snapshot of these observational understandings as they are captured at a particular point in time. It is an analytical representation of the broader community, subculture, or culture being researched (Mella 2009).

To identify and understand the Tradwife holarchy and its potential holons, a three-phase approach was applied. The first phase of collating the data was to gain a baseline sense of who Tradwives are and how they appear on their social media platforms. This involved transcribing videos, capturing text data, and for time-sensitive data—taking screenshots or recordings. The second phase determined the codes and key signifiers of how the Tradwives presented themselves (e.g., grooming, change of lifestyle, clothing, home advocacy, right-wing expression).

The final phase of data analysis involved combining the coded dataset with immersion journal notes, and insights from the ongoing media overlook. This involved examining the coded data and identifying connections (or lack thereof) between Tradwife codes and signifiers. This process of combining coded data is known as “pattern-coding” (Kozinets 2020) and led to the identification of four holons. Holon 1) The Tradwife Landscape explores the continuum of extremity existing within Tradwives and intersections of other identities; Holon 2) Cross-platform Influencers, outlines how Tradwives operated across a variety of social media platforms; Holon 3) Feminine not Feminist, discusses Tradwives’ conscious rejection of “feminist” and shift to “feminine”; and Holon 4) The Tradwife Side-Hustle, examines the monetization of Tradwife subculture (Sykes 2023). The Tradwife holarchy is a combination of these four holons and reveals a representation of Tradwife subculture at a particular point in time.

Underpinning the Tradwife holarchy and woven throughout the identified holons are the descriptive and visual elements that differentiate a Tradwife from other social media influencers. Labeled the “Tradwife Aesthetic” and encompassing Tradwife signifiers, this aesthetic presence comprises important defining features of Tradwives and was presented in three main ways (the 1950’s housewife,⁴ the-girl-next-door,⁵ the modern wife⁶).

Findings

Tradwife Holons

Holon 1: The Tradwife Landscape

Tradwives span the right-wing landscape and (re)produce the right-wing communities they inhabit. Within the “Tradwife Landscape” (Figure 1), these women primarily fitted into one of the three previously discussed positions: Conservative Right, Alt-Lite, and Alt-Right.

Figure 1.

The Tradwife Landscape (Sykes 2023).

Conservative Right Tradwives presented a lifestyle aesthetic that centered on traditional gender roles, wifedom, homemaking, and stay-at-home motherhood. Their soft feminine content was subtle in right-wing affiliation and limited to conservative politics and/or religious views. Conversely, Alt-Right Tradwives presented an ideological persona grounded in Alt-Right identities such as white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, and nationalism. Alt-Lite Tradwives presented a blended aesthetic, broadly aligned with nationalism and traditionalism, most notably bridging the traditional feminine presentation of Conservative Tradwives and the extremities of the Alt-Right.

As previously noted, Tradwives expressed themselves online through a predominant identity (religious, political, militia, counterculture). Although different identities were not necessarily mutually exclusive (i.e., the same woman could have militia as well as religious affiliations), Tradwives appeared to prioritize one identity in curating their online presence.

Religious Tradwives spanned the right-wing landscape from Conservative Right to Alt-Right and emphasized a patriarchal system of family and society (Sykes and Hopner 2023). They promoted ideas that God(s)/deity(s) designed humanity with hierarchical and essentialist distinctions between people based upon sex, gender, and sometimes race. Religious Tradwives were Pagan, Evangelical, Catholic, Alt-Catholic, Orthodox Christian, Mormon, or non-denominational Christian women. Regardless of denomination or theism, all Religious Tradwives shared tips and tricks on mothering as a #sahm (stay-at-home mom/mum), alongside homemaking and homesteading, and traditional notions of femininity.

Ethnic Pagan Tradwives⁷ promoted traditional gender roles through archetypical divine femininity and God of Goddesses (with men constructed as Viking-like protectors and warriors). Pagan Tradwives were vocal Alt-Right advocates, openly promoting the superiority of the white race and revival of a folk vitality. As “Hearth and Helm” (an Instagram account run by two Pagan Tradwives) explains, “The Hearth is in sync with our Helm—our ships, our sails, swords. . .our raiding, berserker, conquering selves. . . This is an analogy that many dissidents can relate to today as we find ourselves in the modern struggle of reclaiming our racial identity between living wholesome peaceful lives—AND knowing that as women and men we must recognize that we are at war and must bear breast and sword. . ..”

In contrast, Christian Tradwives were firmly centered at home as quintessential housewives. Colloquially referred to as “fundie women and/or tradfundies,” their aesthetic was soft, feminine, and nurturing. Christian Tradwives embodied biblical texts, which influenced the way they dressed (modestly, some with head coverings and aprons), as well as attitudes toward modern medicine and societal and political events. At their extreme, Christian Tradwives’ revealed antipathy toward immigrants, prejudicial attitudes toward minority communities, and rejection of same-sex marriage and trans rights. Religious commitment and conservatism were powerfully linked with fertility expectations and sanctity of life (all were staunchly anti-abortion). Their focus on large families further perpetuated Alt-Lite Christian Tradwives’ nationalist ideas of fertility, and for Alt-Right Christian Tradwives, reproduction was in resistance to the Great Replacement conspiracy theory and for continuation of the white race.

Political Tradwives ranged from Republican backers to promoters of paleo-conservatism (American Christian Nationalism) and defenders of the Alt-Right (Sykes and Hopner 2023). They had a modern aesthetic with feminine but more glamorous presentation, and although devoted wives (if married), were career women who leveraged social media platforms to offer highly conservative perspectives on current issues (i.e., Covid-19 vaccine response, overturning of Roe v. Wade, Ukraine War, Trans rights). For example, commenting such as: “Are we allowed to say ‘only women can give birth’ or ‘men are not and can never be women’ on this platform yet or is 1^st grade biology still hate speech” (@RealCandaceO). Reconciling any tension around women stepping into public life, Political Tradwives drew on complementarianism rather than submission to their husbands and saw reproductions of national and/or ethnostate ideologies through birth of children while holding public positions of political, cultural, and social advocacy.

Militia Tradwives: Our single Militia Tradwife offered a unique insight into how militia may be amalgamating with Tradwife subculture to place women in positions of influence (Sykes and Hopner 2023). Pairing right-wing advocacy with apocalyptic prophesying, Good Patriot promoted advice on “doomsday prepping”. Her aesthetic was practical yet glamorous, with distinct militia-style positioning on conservative family values, support for unrestricted firearms ownership, and opposition to government authority. Although she participated in more masculine roles and hobbies compared to other Tradwives (shooting guns, foraging for food, hunting with her husband), Good Patriot’s actions were a contemporary example of the “help-mate,” a term described by militia women interviewed in Terinoni’s research (1997). Good Patriot explained: “Women shouldn’t be president. Some women shouldn’t be allowed to vote. . .It’s not the soy milk making men weak, it’s the women not knowing their place. The pedestal of leadership only has room for one, and that position was given to men. If you as the woman are up on that platform, you need to get off. . .Don’t be a weight around a man’s neck, be an encouraging asset in his life.”

Counterculture Tradwives were positioned as activists for the Alt-Lite and Alt-Right, respectively, rather than directly motivated by religion, politics, or militia values (Sykes and Hopner 2023). Their dominant commentary was a rejection of the liberal agenda and a direct intention to mainstream more extreme right-wing ideology, and they were the most overt in attempts to recruit and radicalize (notably through the contemporary technique of redpilling⁸) others to their cause. Presenting a sexualized aesthetic, Counterculture Tradwives used femininity to enhance the palatability of their right-wing advocacy, at their extreme promoting women as reproducers of the white race. They presented the tensions between feminism and femininity in terms of culture war and rejected identity politics, especially political correctness and purported “woke normies.” As Rebecca (@blondeinthebellyofthebeast) stated: “we have to create a culture that’s worth fighting for, because the West right now is not.”

The Tradwife Landscape was further (re)produced and re(worked) through the cross-platform social media membership that all Tradwives used to engage the widest audience and build strength, trust, and popularity.

Holon 2: Cross-platform Influencers

Social media success is predicated on aesthetics, branding as well as platform management and performance (Lo and Peng 2022). With the typical user active on an average of 6.6 platforms (Data Reportal 2022), presence across the social media landscape is typical of social media influencers. Primarily, Tradwives negotiated social discourses and presented their views on beauty, heteronormativity, homemaking, motherhood, and right-wing politics through the creation of profiles that were unique, flexible, and strategic. Acting as cross-platform influencers allowed Tradwives to harness the reach of social media by tactically managing the different rules and regulations of each social media platform. Functionally, this resulted in varying levels of content (format, messages, extremity) posted by the same Tradwife across her social media landscape (Sykes and Hopner 2023).

On more regulated sites such as Facebook and Instagram, Tradwives presented anti-femininist and extremely feminine content. Employing hastags such as #tradlife, women shared tips on homesteading, housework, and beauty routines. Such messaging exuded contentment, security and happiness that was promoted as desired and possible (Sykes and Hopner 2023).

Conversely on less regulated sites including Twitter(X), Youtube, and fringe social media (Rmble, Gab), the content was more ideologically and polticially structured. In some cases, there was an active attempt to “repill” followers by lengthy posts, and videos that discussed entrenched right-wing positions on gender essentialism and transgendersim and the right to life and abortion (Sykes and Hopner 2023). Examples of different content formatting and extremity are shown in Tables 2 and 3 below.

Table 2.

Extracts from “More Regulated” Social Media Platforms.

Social media platform	Extract theme
Social media platform	Heteronormativity	Femininity	Homemaking and Motherhood	Right-wing Politics
Facebook	@thepostmodernfamily (Political Tradwife): “Happy Father’s Day to aspiring patriarchs. Your families are blessed to have you - never give up, never give in”	@girldefined (Religious Tradwife): “Mainstream voices have lied about what a strong woman looks like. . . As Christian women, we refuse to believe the lies feminism is preaching to us. We need to hold onto God’s truth. . .and adhere to his role for us as women”	@thetransformedwife (Religious Tradwife): “Women mock housekeeping manuals today, but most marriages would be strong and survive until death to they part IF these were allowed”	@daisycousens (Political Tradwife): “. . .Woke investment funds like Blackrock, State Street, and Vanguard are bypassing the democratic process by manipulating global governments to do their bidding. The question is; can they be stopped?”
Twitter	@solieoso (Religious Tradwife): “If you’re single, your appearance is going to affect whether or not a man is attracted to you. Put in effort. . .Don’t listen to feminists that tell you to never dress for a man.”	@mrsmidwestblog (Religious Tradwife) “When we ignore femininity, we dismiss the host of irreplaceable talents it manifests. . .these are essential to a balanced civilization.”	@feminINEnotIST (Religious Tradwife): “Fertility is a blessing to nurture not a disease to be medicated.”	@LanaLokteff (Political Tradwife): “Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Honor the European pioneers who settled this country!. . .They helped establish the foundation for other European Americans to give us the comforts, discoveries and inventions that we ALL use today!”
Instagram	@theprettyconservative (Religious Tradwife): “Happy ‘there are only two genders/look how beautiful men and women look together’ Month. Remember that this month and always. // Genesis 1:27. . .”	@thetradwivesclub (Religious Tradwife): “We reject: Hook-up culture, Immodest clothing, Degenerate media, Feminist thinking. We value: Covenant love, Modest classy clothing, Wholesome media, Femininity and Biblical womanhood. Tradwives may be in this world, but we’re not of it!”	@growinggoodings (Religious Tradwife): “Homemaking isn’t just about the organizing of our homes but the relationships within it. . .It’s interesting how controversial this topic is these days. I find so much beauty in my role as a homemaker. . .”	@classicallyabby (Political Tradwife): “Question everything that’s taught to you. When the history seems skewed, go home and research it. Educate yourself. If you hear something you know is incorrect, say something in class. You might end up convincing your classmates of the truth.”

Table 3.

Extracts from “Less regulated” Social Media Platforms.

Social Media Platform	Extract Theme
Social Media Platform	Heteronormativity	Femininity	Homemaking and Motherhood	Right-Wing Politics
YouTube	@LaurenChen (Counterculture Tradwife) “Demi Lovato giving up her they-them pronouns is exactly how we know that being genderfluid or non-binary. . .is not real, it’s not an actual gender identity like me being a woman. Genders aren’t like hobbies. . .you can’t just give it up when it’s too tiring or inconvenient.”	@ClassicallyAbby (Political Tradwife): “Conservative women are the backbone of American society. We prioritise marriage and children, support our husbands, and support ourselves. . . Let’s take back the culture so women can be women. Let’s talk about reclaiming your femininity.”	@RobynRiley collaboration with @brittpettibone (Religious Tradwives): “What makes you think that you deserve a great man? Are you a great woman?. . . Once I started working on the qualities a good man would want in a woman - like learning how to keep a good home, I found a great man.”	@GoodPatriot (Militia Tradwife): “The people who did the work to prepare are the people you want in your tribe when stuff really hits the fan. . .On the chart of what is dangerous and crazy right now, the coronavirus pandemic is really not high up there.”
TikTok	@esteecwilliams (Religious Tradwife): “Promoting a traditional lifestyle doesn’t further women into domestic abuse relationships. . .Being financially dependent on a man doesn’t showcase that you’re incapable. . . It displays complete trust in your partner to provide for you. . .”	@bernadinebluntly (Counterculture Tradwife): “. . .Decent men don’t want women with Onlyfans accounts.. Prostituting yourself on the World Wide Web speaks volumes about your character. . .And a good man won’t want to wife up or have children who lacks discretion, modesty, and family values.”	@sarahelrod (Religious Tradwife): “POV: you are a stay-at-home rural housewife who gets to watch your child hit every milestone, take afternoon walks in the sunshine, and watch your horses graze in your backyard.”	@thereservedwife (Political Tradwife): “Instead of enabling a society that thinks abortion is their only option. . .Let’s rebuild a society that values motherhood, children, and a community that’s willing to help others.”

“More Regulated” sites

Facebook

Arguably the most popular social networking site for people aged 25+ (Chaffey 2024; Statista 2018), Facebook is used exponentially in extreme right-wing movements to facilitate transnational mobilization and form alliances (Scrivens and Amarasingam 2020), with Facebook groups and pages providing online echo chambers where extremist content can be discussed, and legitimized (Hutchinson et al. 2021). Facebook was used by Tradwives in two key ways: (1) long-format posts and (2) private groups. Through long-format text posts, Tradwives discussed topics, opinions, and values in more depth. Curated like a mini-blog, Tradwives delved into complicated topics on Facebook, often encouraging interaction and opinion from their following and/or directing followers to platforms where ideological perspectives were more openly discussed, such as YouTube, podcasts, or personal blogs.

Twitter.now.named.X

With over 3.6 million users (Statista 2022b), Twitter is used in extreme right-wing circles to spread hate speech propaganda and used to coordinate acts of violent extremism (Kouba 2022). Since Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in 2022, a range of previously banned accounts have been reinstated to “[encourage] freedom of speech without limitations” (Pao 2022). Tradwife followers on Twitter ranged from 100 to 4 million, with Political and Counterculture Tradwives most active on this platform. Twitter offered Tradwives a place for critical analysis of current events and sharing ideological opinions. While some content shared by Tradwives was clearly curated, other content presented as running train-of-thought commentary, which was more overt in extreme right-wing thought. Twitter facilitated the recruitment of a wider audience for Tradwives and allowed for greater follower engagement. Key topics of interest for future content were often discussed in the comments section of Tradwife Tweets, hence creating a circular economy for posting more extreme right-wing content.

Instagram

With a billion active monthly users, Instagram is a dominant space for expanding influencers’ reach and cementing their online presence (Statista 2023a). Largely geared toward young millennials, Instagram not only allows users to create an online identity, it is also increasingly a platform that millennials use to learn about world and news events, rather than traditional media outlets (Coleman 2019). Compared to Facebook and Twitter, Instagram has historically seen a lower tendency for extremist content (Vaidhyanathan 2018), but this changed during the COVID-19 pandemic and the saturation of conspiratorial theorizing and radical right perspectives (Tuters and Willaert 2022). Given Instagram’s visual aesthetic, extreme content is typically more visual and geared toward meme culture and User-Generated Content (Coleman 2019). Instagram was the most dynamic platform for Tradwives, offering a curated, visual, and branded presence through the platform’s multi-format approach to content sharing and social networking.⁹ The use of “story-posting” was particularly influential for Tradwife-follower relationship-building. Described by Lou (2021) as “trans-parasocial,” the relationships between influencers and their followers are reciprocal, co-created entities cemented over time through positive affirmation, validation, and the sharing of inspirational and aesthetically pleasing content.

“Less Regulated” sites

YouTube

With an average of two billion active monthly users and the uploading of over 500 hours of video every minute, YouTube is one of the most popular mainstream platforms and is considered a dominant driver of the supply and demand for extremist content (Munger and Phillips 2022). The YouTube recommender algorithm is frequently criticized for its tendency to bias inflammatory or controversial content, sending users into online echo chambers by recommending increasingly more extreme videos to users (Tufekci 2018). Tradwives used YouTube to share video blogs, political commentary, informative videos, and collaborations with other Tradwives and ideologically aligned right-wing figures. Tradwives had hundreds of thousands of subscribers on YouTube, with tens of thousands of video views averaging twenty minutes in length. The ability of Tradwives to captivate and cement their audience on YouTube was apparent through their viewership and the comments section of their videos.

TikTok

Tradwives have expanded their online presence through TikTok with followers in the thousands and viewership often reaching virality at 100 million. Although TikTok has implemented restrictions within its algorithm to limit the publishing and spread of extreme, inappropriate, and harmful content, creators appear to continue to successfully navigate these restrictions by omitting certain words, phrases, or imagery known to “trigger” the algorithm (Boucher 2022). Given the similarity of the format, TikTok was used by Tradwives in a similar vein to Instagram Reels—to provide an impact. Tradwives often staircase from more mainstream video topics using the #trending hashtag. Adding their own right-wing spin on trending audio or video, the highly targeted nature of the TikTok algorithm coupled with the fast consumption of content meant TikTok facilitated breadth to catapult Tradwife reach.

Other

Increasingly, Tradwives (especially Alt-Right Tradwives) directed their followers to more fringe platforms like Bitchute, Rumble, and Odysee in fear of censorship or de-platforming. Backup accounts on regulated platforms like Instagram were also found in the case their main account was shut down. Tradwife use of podcast applications and services was also noted. Similar to the divergence away from mainstream sharing, Tradwives appeared to also use podcast apps like Spotify to converse on more controversial topics and opinions, such as free-birthing, gender diversity, trans activism, and abortion.

Looking at the performance of Tradwife content broadly, it was controversial content that elicited the greatest audience reaction and reach. Content projecting right-wing positions on abortion, transgender activism, traditional gender roles, conservative religious practices, and anti-feminism likely generated boosts in reach for Tradwives. Anti-feminist content specifically has been found to capture an audience through its controversy, evoking an emotional reaction that drives people to react (Lin 2022). Taken a step further, content that exposed the more radical elements of Tradwife culture, including Christian nationalism and white supremacy, can be inferred to have also generated more attention (whether positive or negative).

Right-wing groups and movements are known to exploit social media’s virality and ease of connection to rally existing audiences, engage new audiences, and radicalize (Paton et al. 2022). Online radicalization can be facilitated through immersion in “filter bubbles,” which refers to the tendency to consume media that is similar to personal beliefs and views of the world—as opposed to media that challenges those beliefs (Aydin et al. 2022). The more a user watches particular content, the more social media algorithms will prioritize that type of content (often with a tendency to push slightly more extreme content). The development of online communities such as Tradwives around particular filter bubbles (or the “echo chamber effect”) can create tighter feedback loops built from those trans-parasocial relationships. For those looped into the consumption of extremist content and/or those with a vulnerability to more extreme beliefs, filter bubbles are a viable method for online radicalization, contributing to a deepening of commitment over time (Aydin et al. 2022).

Right-wing groups have also been found to strategically engage an audience on mainstream platforms before migrating engaged individuals to less regulated online platforms for encouraging deeper commitment (Nouh et al. 2019). By broadcasting a continuum of right-wing identities across social media platforms, Tradwives actively used influencer culture and theories of online marketing to communicate right-wing agendas By strategically exploiting the circumstances and conditions, which may pull followers into Tradwife communities (i.e., right-wing values and political systems, existing community membership) and credibly rebutting any arguments that might push followers away (i.e., gender quality, ideological dissatisfaction) (Sykes and Hopner 2023).¹⁰ Through their social media content, Tradwives popularize a traditionally feminine niche that consciously plays into the competing priorities women may feel between heteronormative traditional roles and the mainstreaming of more liberal perspectives for women to essentially be and do more in society.

Holon 3: Feminine not Feminist

All Tradwives shared a rejection of feminism and identification as feminine, not feminist. Communicated as either complementary or hierarchical, the role of women in society, as interpreted by Tradwives, is to be and act as a feminine woman should (to cook, clean, bear children, and support her husband). Tradwives wholeheartedly used their “feminine not feminist” rhetoric to advocate for a societal reinvigoration of conservative religious and/or traditional heteronormative beliefs about sex and gender.

Stories of turning away from feminism were unanimously celebrated within Tradwife communities, and many Tradwives once identified as the feminists they now criticized. Most Tradwives described their personal journey from feminism to femininity as a form of awakening, sharing content that directly discussed this journey, highlighting useful books, videos, and tools that helped them “wake up from feminism.” Under the guise of Choice Feminism, Tradwives renegotiated mainstream understandings of feminist inclusivity and offered step-by-step guidelines on how to present, act, and communicate as a traditional heteronormative woman in Western Eurocentric societies. Employing cancel culture, Tradwives distinguished in-groups and out-groups (Tajfel and Turner 1986), qualifying women who uphold traditional values and openly rejecting those who do not. Commonly accepted or “mainstream” interpretations of feminism were projected as socially and politically inferior, with Tradwives and their followers pitying and critiquing those who take up such feminist versions of womanhood.

Presented as a decline of patriarchy and undermining of the role of women within the family unit (Whitehead and Perry 2019), feminist ideologies were frequently criticized by Tradwives as the reason why many women feel unable to be stay-at-home wives and mothers. Alternatively, Tradwives advocated for women to “return to the home” and traditional patriarchal social order. Tradwives leveraged maternal identities during pregnancy as a push factor toward their communities with a central focus on motherhood and, equally, a level of trauma or instability in childhood and/or a drastic change of life circumstance (i.e., death, health crisis, pandemic) was construed as a touchpoint to encourage a turn to traditional roles. As Alena-Kate Pettitt explained in an interview: “I just [feel] like I was born to be a mother and a wife. . .I grew up in a single-parent household. . .and at that point in time, I realized that I didn’t want that for my own life” (BBC Stories 2020).

Religious Tradwives discussed traditional gender roles in biological and biblical terms, seeing wifely submission as paramount. “It’s not weakness. It’s biology. . .As women we are wise enough to know that without male leadership and protection, if all the men in our country suddenly vanished, we would be left vulnerable and exposed” (@theprettyconservative).

Political Tradwives tended to position both feminism and capitalism as forces which “pushed women out into the workforce and you get another 50(percent) of the population paying tax. . .and they no longer want to take care of the household, or their children, or even their husbands heaven forbid” (@hannahspierer). These women were extremely cognisant of the histories of feminist standpoints, Political Tradwife Lauren Chen celebrated how Tradwives: “highlight the beautiful aspects of being a mom, being a Christian, being a wife, and it’s just such a nice refreshing change from the image of womanhood and femininity that third wave feminism has been shoving down our throats.”

Tradwives used their online identities to globalize anti-globalism and modernize the anti-modern within Eurocentric societies. There was a definite longing for a return to the 1950s discussed by several women as a nod to a time when femininity was the mainstream, and feminism was a fringe liberal movement. These Tradwives embodied the physical appearance of a 1950s woman, embracing vintage and conservative fashion choices as a conscious decision against or counterculture to progressivism and upholding a restrictive form of femininity that, by definition, excludes gender and sexual diversity. Through this biological essentialist perspective and “radicalisation of domesticity” (Proctor 2022), support for abortion, LGBTQIA+ rights, and gender diversity were justified and framed by Tradwives as part of a liberal multicultural agenda.

However, not all Tradwives rejected feminism through an embodiment of a feminine aesthetic and promotion of life at home as wife and mother. Many modern Tradwives rejected feminism purely on grounds of irrelevance. They believed that women had achieved the equality sought by feminism and perceived contemporary feminism as a tirade against men and heteronormativity. Counterculture Tradwife Sydney Watson found “. . .a lot of feminist ideology and thought today feels more like a supremacist movement rather than something that is supposed to be advancing the goals of equality.”

Tradwives sought validation from heterosexual men and defined womanly success through male-ordered standards. They styled themselves within heterosexual matrices and adopted a limited and patriarchal range of physical, psychological, and spiritual expression. Religious Tradwives sought a biblical male-ordered approval through their interpretation of traditional gender roles in scripture; Political Tradwives sought a metapolitical patriarchal social order through digital advocacy for right-wing politics; Militia Tradwives sought a militarized male gaze through their presentation as capable and sexually appealing help-mates for men; and Counterculture Tradwives sought an Alt-Right authoritative male-led stance on ethnic superiority through their advocation of white supremacy. Counterculture Tradwife Lana Lokteff outlines the ideal Alt-Right woman as;

. . .well-rounded. . .is interested in fighting back against anti-white politics, keeps a nice home, raises kids well, teaches them about their tribal ethnic consciousness, has a good marriage. . .she [also] might have time to do a blog post, or a video, or produce something. . .to fight back against anti-white politics. (ADL 2018).

While ownership of social media profiles and curation of online identities by Tradwives demonstrated a level of autonomy and agency, Tradwives across the right-wing landscape argued that modern feminism detracts from the biological role of women as wives and mothers. Although some modern Tradwives took on careers outside the home, these were still geared toward the promotion of traditional ideas of heteronormative masculinity and femininity and the support of accordant right-wing ideologies. Cleverly and within these boundaries, Tradwives were able to commodify and monetize their ideologies through the creation of businesses and partnerships that boosted their social influence and provided monetary value to their online ideological expression.

Holon 4: The Tradwife Side-Hustle

Tradwives have almagamated mechanisms of online marketing with influencer culture “…by blending the art of social media aesthetics with the science of social media platform management and monetisation” (Sykes and Hopner 2023, p. 1). With a global market value estimated at 13.8 billion USD in 2021 (doubling from 2019 Michaelsen et al. 2022), social media influencing is now among the most common and effective methods of online marketing. Understood as the “attention economy” the social media influencer’s popularity and commercial value depends on followers’ attention, which is measured through follows, likes and shares (Schenk 2020). The more followers that validate a particular Tradwife (through following, sharing, and engaging with content), the more likely she is to continue presenting and/or strengthening her online identity. Validation theories of marketing further suggest that if an online user leaves a positive review for a product, service, brand, or business, another user is subsequently more likely to purchase or engage with that product, service, brand, or business (Schenk 2020). Often leading communities of between 20,000 and 200,000 followers, Tradwife sites were not only substantial but likely lucrative, as all except one Tradwife (@tradspostingws) monetized their social media presence. Income was generated through advertising revenue, brand collaboration, partnerships, promotions, or the creation of small online businesses aligned to the extension of Tradwife subculture. For example, Solie, an Alt-Lite Religious Tradwife and owner of Nap-Time Side-Hustle, promoted a program created for women who want to “grow their social media and make money online, without it overtaking their lives as homemakers, wives, or mothers.” These businesses and partnerships were all geared toward the adoption of Tradwife culture—thus extending, popularizing, and reproducing Tradwifery. As highlighted on the “About Us” page of thetradwivesclub.com

The Tradwives Club launched in July 2021 with the aspiration of creating and cultivating a brand centered around counter-cultural values rooted in traditional Truths. With a fiery passion for faith, family, femininity, marriage, and gender roles we seek to build community for women who are equally passionate or are curious about our way of life.

Whether through upskilling in social media management or guides on how to effectively run a household, Tradwife services also directed followers toward the #Tradlife. Theorized as the “commitment curve,” engaging in services from an influential figure indicates a distinct and conscious shift from simply viewing and liking content to engaging with ideological positioning (Bogle 2021b). Drawing on Hogan’s Socialization Theory (Liang and Cross 2020), the purchasing of Tradwife services may further indicate a shift from “schooling” to “selection.” Exchanging money for Tradwife expertise on a particular topic may signal reaching a level of education about right-wing ideologies (schooling) and readiness for active engagement (selection) of these ideologies. In turn, the women who adopt the Tradwife aesthetic and generate their own social media presence (specialization) are growing the circulation of right-wing value systems.

Through cumulative interactions over time, followers develop an enduring attachment that becomes a protective factor against disengagement (Lou 2021). Tradwife-Follower emotional connections are a vehicle through which Tradwives can influence. As followers become increasingly invested and connected to Tradwife lives, it becomes more difficult to turn away from their content, even if it becomes more extreme. Tradwives are online advocates for right-wing thought and action, and in buying into their conservative and fundamentalist positions, followers are directly and indirectly consuming restrictive elements of right-wing ideologies.

Tradwife Holarchy

Together, the four holons above come together to form a Tradwife Holarchy—an interpreted snapshot of this online subculture captured at a particular time and place. Tradwife subculture is diverse in its affiliation and expression of right-wing ideologies. These women ranged across a landscape of the right-wing communities they inhabit, across a variety of fundamentalist religions, and varied in their advocacy of gender identity, religion, ethnicity, patriotism, and politics. No two Tradwives were exactly alike. Yet, all aligned on the values and principles underlying Tradwife subculture, with the Tradwife Aesthetic providing a shared template of visual presentation.

Tradwife subculture ingrains its communities, offering a powerful female in-group association to help counter demands placed on women in modern Eurocentric societies (Sykes and Hopner 2023). Rejecting career ambitions for life as a traditional home-based housewife and mother is less popular and at times, stigmatized in contemporary societies. Through inherent beliefs about the biological role of women, Tradwife subculture validates the lifestyle of the archetypal wife and mother. Tradwives offer online communities for like-minded conservative women who either do not fit into the hustle of modern society and/or are negotiating highly traditional heterosexual relationships. Subcultural norms of Tradwives outline a set of guidelines and rules on how to act, dress, and behave, providing a sense of purpose and direction that appears to be comforting. In an increasingly insecure world, Tradwife subculture appears to offer security, belonging, and surety through strong social support networks and ideological reinforcement.

Commodification of Tradwife subculture further reinforces right-wing ideology as currency by offering a home-based career option as social media influencers and positions of advocacy in right-wing communities, which have historically been male dominated. Through a clever story telling ability and sharing of curated and aesthetically attractive content, Tradwives are able to transform themselves from everyday social media users into influencers. The creation of Tradwife identities on social media platforms allows Tradwife subculture to be optimized across the widest reach, cementing its influence. The influential positioning of Tradwives on social media ensures the content they produce and ideas they promote are likely to be seen by a wider audience beyond their own communities. Women exploring different versions of femininity, or who have become new mothers or women interested in cooking, gardening, or home-schooling, may encounter Tradwives online.

Tradwives’ social media identities are highly curated and controlled, with content created as snapshots of their lives for a specific purpose. By applying a distinct and consistent message to their content, Tradwives functions across a multitude of social media platforms without losing credibility or consistency of messaging. The use of social media marketing and strong brand identity fueled by anti-feminism and heteronormative traditional living (re)produces and further monetizes Tradwife subculture. This monetization creates a circular motion that acts to strengthen right-wing affiliations and ideological currencies. The better their content performs, the more money and follower validation they receive, and the more likely Tradwives are to continue producing popular content.

Conclusion

As a sociopolitical project, Tradwives raise important questions and issues about gender and gendered relationships, sexualities, economic institutions, legal practices and public policies, as well as political processes and systems. Perhaps above all else, Tradwives raise central questions and comment about the autonomy and agency of women in their own lives.

As agents of Tradwife subculture and wider right-wing communities, Tradwives bring patriarchy firmly into view and raise questions about the functions and relations of the heterosexual relationship within heteropatriarchal arrangements. They offer a particular version of femininity and masculinity and fill in subject positions of what it means to be male and female, wife and husband, mother and father, and suggest definitions of the family unit. Tradwives bring into view constructions of gender and contribute to societal debates about gendered inclusions, and participation in arenas of social life and public spaces. Likewise, Tradwives draw attention to other matters of social justice and questions of morality, such as the recognition and rights relating to practices of sexuality.

Offering a new slant on the “personal is political,” Tradwives raise challenges around commonly accepted meanings of feminism and, in doing so, offer the validity of choice within openly patriarchal frameworks. This raises thought-provoking questions about notions of female complicity or autonomy in uncontested patriarchal systems. Tradwives promote considerations around psychological and sociocultural incentives of female loyalty, and the ethics and responsibilities of care and caring. They raise issues of bodily autonomy around dress, appearance, speech, behavior, and reproduction. Tradwives call attention to contentious debates about reproduction, choice, and protection through highlighting activism and social divisions around the rights of women versus the rights of the unborn child.

Tradwives further promote interest and discussion on irregular and regular migration and who can be considered a member of a nation-state other than that of one’s birth or citizenship. Tradwives replicate and contribute to wider societal conversations about the role of the government in economic markets and labor relationships and in the role of the nation-state in international military affairs, arrangements, wars, and conflicts. Interesting possibilities are offered to traditional women as small business owners and as political activists, highlighting how social media influencing can be harnessed to commodify ideology. In turn, this raises wider issues such as free speech and the role of Big Tech in the promulgation of social media content, and in the negotiation of laws and regulations, as well as social norms and ethical standards.

In a time where progressive values and feminism is increasingly prominent, women who do not fit the mainstream have created an alternative online ecosystem. Encapsulating conservative women passionate about their right-wing ideology, Tradwife subculture creates space for non-feminist women and popularizes their choice to domestically nurture their family within modern society. Ultimately, these women simply want a different life from what is contemporarily promoted as “normal.”

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-1-jce-10.1177_08912416241246273 – Supplemental material for Tradwives: Right-Wing Social Media Influencers

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-jce-10.1177_08912416241246273 for Tradwives: Right-Wing Social Media Influencers by Sophia Sykes and Veronica Hopner in Journal of Contemporary Ethnography

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-2-jce-10.1177_08912416241246273 – Supplemental material for Tradwives: Right-Wing Social Media Influencers

Supplemental material, sj-docx-2-jce-10.1177_08912416241246273 for Tradwives: Right-Wing Social Media Influencers by Sophia Sykes and Veronica Hopner in Journal of Contemporary Ethnography

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,authorship,and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research,authorship,and/or publication of this article: The research was supported by a masterate scholarship from He Whenua Taurikura,Aotearoa New Zealand. The material for this article was drawn from S. Sykes Masters Thesis,2023.

ORCID iD

Veronica Hopner

Supplemental Material

Supplemental material for this article is available online.

Author Biographies

Sophia Sykes is a PhD candidate in the School of Psychology at Massey University in New Zealand. Her research interests include online radicalization,social media subcultures and how violence manifests through left-wing extremism.

Dr Veronica Hopner is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at Massey University in New Zealand. Her research interests include the the role of women in right-wing extremism,and how violence manifests through left-wing extremism.

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