Emily Chan
If you’re not aware, the term “tradwife” has been trending on social media, and it refers to a married woman who practices traditional gender roles.
On TikTok, some content creators have become well-known for showing off their lives as homemakers, supporting their husbands as the primary breadwinners.
Being a tradwife means embracing ideals surrounding women bearing the responsibilities of domestic duties and family care that were so popular in the mid-20th century.
Typical tradwife content consists of pictures and videos depicting clean, neat homes, daily elaborate meals, happy children with big smiles on their faces, and long, flowing dresses that are the unofficial “tradwife uniform.”
One of these creators, Hannah Neeleman (@ballerinafarm), provided viewers with a peek into the tradwife lifestyle as a mother of eight children living on their family farm in Utah.
She tends to livestock, cooks all meals from scratch, and homeschools the children. Despite the internet claiming that she fits the definition of a tradwife, Neeleman has said that she does not identify with the label.
Another tradwife influencer, Estee Williams (@esteecwilliams), fully embraces the term and has described a tradwife as a woman who chooses to take on a traditional role in marriage and believes that a woman’s place is in the home.
Perhaps the best-known tradwife is Nara Smith, although she has never outright claimed the title. She rose to fame on TikTok for her videos of making various foods from scratch. In most of her videos, she is at a kitchen counter preparing some sort of delicacy.
Her appearance is always perfectly curated, with her hair done, her nails painted, and wearing a dress. She married young, and at the age of 22, she welcomed her third baby into the world in April 2024.
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