The Truth About the Past That ‘Tradwives’ Want to Revive

[Michie]

Estee Williams faced her TikTok followers and detractors head-on with full makeup, coiffed blonde waves, and a floral-printed puff sleeve peasant top cinched at the center with a tidy bow. She felt obligated to clarify a few things about what it really meant to be a “tradwife”—a portmanteau denoting “traditional wife”: “So the man goes outside the house, works, provides for the family. The woman stays home, and she’s the homemaker. She takes care of the home and the children if there are any.”

But Williams’ definition moved beyond the idyllic character of June Cleaver or even the Victorian-era presumptions of separate spheres. “Tradwives also believe,” she insisted, “that they should submit to their husbands and serve their husbands and family.” Williams was quick to defend her position against potential critics, noting that she did not believe women were inferior to men, but that they had an equally important but different role.

Tradwives have not escaped the notice of journalists and social commentators who track their popular rise on various social media platforms. Some analyses of the tradwife trend reference the 1950s, while other commentators focus on influencers like Hannah Neeleman of Ballerina Farm fame, who perform the role of 19th-century homesteaders (despite Neeleman’s occlusion of her husband’s inherited wealth). But the ideology behind the fad has much deeper—and more insidious—roots in American history.

Continued below.

The Truth About the Past That 'Tradwives' Want to Revive

"Tradwife" influencers give the idea of women's subordination an appealing gloss.

time.com

 

[RDKirk]

No, there is no evidence that modern "tradwives" want to revive all that. That article pulls the same kind of trick that I see among some black American writers. It evokes on past issues to stir up feelings of victimization even though nobody suffers that today, nor is going to.

 

[Michie]

I was a trad wife & it destroyed my life - women should NEVER quit working

A FORMER trad wife has revealed that the lifestyle completely destroyed her life, and urged women to always make sure they have an income of their own. A trad wife (short for traditional wife) is a…

www.the-sun.com

 

[Michie]

My advise to wannabe tradwives is have a premarital agreement before taking the plunge.

 

[Michie]

Woman sparks debate over ‘traditional wife’ lifestyle in viral videos: 'I serve my husband'

A TikToker by the name of Estee Williams has posted dozens of viral videos on the "traditional wife" lifestyle, sparking debate about gender roles and feminism.

www.foxnews.com

 

[chevyontheriver]

Estee Williams faced her TikTok followers and detractors head-on with full makeup, coiffed blonde waves, and a floral-printed puff sleeve peasant top cinched at the center with a tidy bow. She felt obligated to clarify a few things about what it really meant to be a “tradwife”—a portmanteau denoting “traditional wife”: “So the man goes outside the house, works, provides for the family. The woman stays home, and she’s the homemaker. She takes care of the home and the children if there are any.”

But Williams’ definition moved beyond the idyllic character of June Cleaver or even the Victorian-era presumptions of separate spheres. “Tradwives also believe,” she insisted, “that they should submit to their husbands and serve their husbands and family.” Williams was quick to defend her position against potential critics, noting that she did not believe women were inferior to men, but that they had an equally important but different role.

Tradwives have not escaped the notice of journalists and social commentators who track their popular rise on various social media platforms. Some analyses of the tradwife trend reference the 1950s, while other commentators focus on influencers like Hannah Neeleman of Ballerina Farm fame, who perform the role of 19th-century homesteaders (despite Neeleman’s occlusion of her husband’s inherited wealth). But the ideology behind the fad has much deeper—and more insidious—roots in American history.

Continued below.

The Truth About the Past That 'Tradwives' Want to Revive

"Tradwife" influencers give the idea of women's subordination an appealing gloss.

time.com

What a 'loaded' article from Time. Wow! They trotted out every stereotype they could find.

 

[Michie]

What a 'loaded' article from Time. Wow! They trotted out every stereotype they could find.

Well they aren’t exactly wrong on this topic. Watching those tradwife videos is quite the experience.

 

[RDKirk]

Well they aren’t exactly wrong on this topic. Watching those tradwife videos is quite the experience.

There is still a good percentage of SAHMs in the working class...whose husbands work 60+ hours to make that happen. That's not the majority, but it's certainly not some strange, arcane cult.

 

[Michie]

Of course there is but that really does not qualify as a tradwife as it if defined today on the internet.

There is still a good percentage of SAHMs in the working class...whose husbands work 60+ hours to make that happen. That's not the majority, but it's certainly not some strange, arcane cult.

 

[RDKirk]

Of course there is but that really does not qualify as a tradwife as it if defined today on the internet.

Articles like that one from the Sun conflate them.

 

[Michie]

Articles like that one from the Sun conflate them.

No it’s right there on YouTube for all to see.

 

[chevyontheriver]

Well they aren’t exactly wrong on this topic. Watching those tradwife videos is quite the experience.

I try to limit my consumption of videos. Most of them are time wasters by people whose goals in life are to be 'influencers'. A search for 'influencers gone wrong' is revealing enough without having to watch a single epic fail video.

For every crazy tradwife influencer there are thousands of normal families where the dual income one kid (or two maybe) in daycare trap has snapped on them. Sometimes it costs more for daycare than one of them makes.

 

[RDKirk]

I try to limit my consumption of videos. Most of them are time wasters by people whose goals in life are to be 'influencers'. A search for 'influencers gone wrong' is revealing enough without having to watch a single epic fail video.

For every crazy tradwife influencer there are thousands of normal families where the dual income one kid (or two maybe) in daycare trap has snapped on them. Sometimes it costs more for daycare than one of them makes.

There are also "normal" SAHMs who have YouTube videos who call themselves "tradwives" but aren't going through all the 1950s revival stuff. This isn't something that's monolithic.

'Way back in the early 2000s, I read a breakdown (in Men's Health magazine, of all places) of the costs of being employed which showed that unless both parents were making a professional salary, it was probably less expensive for one to stay home. And daycare was cheaper back then.