Could this be harmful to women's rights? Tiktok's "tradwives" are selling a 1950s fantasy to young women. Some say this is a reactionary movement riddled with sinister implications.
Tradwives are flooding the internet
Could this be harmful to women's rights? Tiktok's "tradwives" are selling a 1950s fantasy to young women. Some say this is a reactionary movement riddled with sinister implications.
In Claude Monet's Camille Monet and a Child in the Artist's Garden, a woman in a blue dress tends to the embroidery on her lap with a rosy-cheeked child in matching clothes sitting at her feet.
You might look at this and feel a pang of longing to loiter about the flowers and enjoy some peace.
If you feel this way, consider yourself among the target audience of some of TikTok's latest superstars: the tradwives. From Nara Smith to Hannah Neeleman, these women with their "traditional values" are making the patriarchyA system of society where men hold power and women are excluded. look cool again.
They sell a life that looks wonderful. Their target audience is women, and they seem to be saying that your life could be better if you stayed home and allowed a man to provide for you.
These tradwives may describe themselves as homemakers, but they are working women. They upload their videos to millions of views and likes and secure well paid sponsorship deals. They are the breadwinners, not just the bread-makers.
Women fought long and hard to gain the same rights as men. But far from finding freedom here, some say they have found only exploitation.
Could this be harmful to women's rights?
Yes! Women have fought long and hard for the right to have a life outside the home. You should never romanticise surrendering your dreams to tend to a man.
No! There are some families with traditional structures, and some with more modern or non-traditional structures. Nowadays, there is room for both.
Tradwives are flooding the internet
Glossary
Patriarchy - A system of society where men hold power and women are excluded.