“Tradwives” say they are opting out of a culture that undervalues women at home. But a closer look at who they are and what they promote tells a different story: The mainstreaming of far-right politics through the language of “traditional values” like femininity and domesticity.

Short for traditional wives, tradwives are popular influencers on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Tradwife content is characterized by its appeal to “nature,” its reinforcement of “traditional” gender roles and its use of 1950s nostalgia alongside rural, off-grid homesteading aesthetics.

If we want to interpret the growing popularity of tradwives sociologically, we need to do three things.

First, we need to determine the statuses an individual holds and the roles associated with these statuses at a given time. We also have to explore how individuals make sense of them. Second, we need to examine how an individual’s statuses and roles are constituted by, and shaped through, social institutions. Third, we need to consider what function these institutions play in upholding social structures.

Doing so can help us recognize that cultural trends, like social media tradwives, are not random phenomena but products of broader socio-political currents.

The tradwife influencer identity

Research has found that while tradwives tend to be politically right-wing, important variations exist among them. Conservative tradwives — women who discuss “femininity” and........

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