If you've been even moderately online in the past few years, it's likely you've heard of the "tradwife." Taking the internet by storm since 2018, the trend of tradwives—or traditional wives—has been central to an online discourse around homemaking and femininity. But who are some of the most recognizable faces in this fad? And what are the implications of these influencers' curated lives in our daily digital spaces? spoke to Marika Lindholm, Ph.
D., sociologist and co-editor of the new book, to learn more about the trend and its evolution. "Tradwives are women who make the choice to focus on homemaking rather than entering the labor market.
Dependent on their husband's financial support, they stay home to cook, clean, raise children and all other ," Lindholm said. "This movement emerged in 2018 with some influencers on and showcasing their tradwife lifestyle and then gained strength during the pandemic." While TikTok and Instagram are flooded with tradwives of all levels of online success, there are a few recognizable faces at the head of the trend.
A popular tradwife and open spokesperson for the movement, Estee Williams, 26, has been making content about being a tradwife since 2022. With 194,000 followers on her TikTok, she posts everything from videos about the "biblical submission" of women to men, to tips for attracting "[A tradwife] is a woman who chooses to live a more traditional life, with ultratraditional gender roles," she said in a 2022 video explaining her pos.