A new trend has swept the internet, and created two extremely polarized sides in its

wake: Trad wives.

The term “trad wife” is meant to be a shortened, cutesy version of the title “traditional

housewife” that originated in mid-2018. The trend has since erupted and is now a full-blown

online movement promoting domesticity and the roles of women as homemakers. The idea of a

trad wife is a woman who can do it all: be a loving wife, a caring mother, a beauty queen. But

“doing it all” has its limitations, and for housewives, those limits are often the walls of their own

homes.

Many online sensations have been born from this trend. Hannah Neelman, known for her

internet profile “Ballerina Farm”, was recently featured in a popular article by The Times titled,

“My day with the trad wife queen and what it taught me.” In the article, Megan Anew talks about

what it was like trying to interview Neelman amidst the voices of her eight children and husband.

Anew mentioned that it was difficult to get the mother's opinion on anything as she was often

interrupted by one of her kids or her husband, Daniel, answering the reporter's questions for her.

Daniel often led the way in the interview to state the couple's stance on topics like marriage,

feminism, and the label “trad wife.” And about Neelman’s online presence, Anew plainly wrote

“This was her life, she told me, and she posted about it online. It was that simple.” Nara Smith is

another recognizable name among the movement. The fashion model and social media

personality often posts on TikTok, sporting vintage Chanel gowns while preparing meticulous

meals from scratch for her husband, Lucky Blue, and three young children. Although it is true

that these women just post snippets of their life online, they monetize them. The total estimated

annual income of @Ballerina Farm is approximately $6.5M – 8.3M across all possible revenue

streams; while the profile @NaraSmith makes an estimated $200,000 a month (based on pay

per views). Their job is to say they don’t have a job; and they profit off of women who decide to

follow in their footsteps and do the same.

Whether directed or not, much of the content has found its way to young girls. Girls as

young as 10 sit at home, watching women put on extravagant shows advertising motherhood.

So many comments are left on the short clips of Nara Smith, Kelly Havens, and Ballerina Farm

that read “I want to be like you when I grow up.”

The thing about trad wives is that they are unique to the internet. They seem like a myth,

something contained in the contents of a phone that doesn’t really exist in the real world. Social

media influencers like Nara Smith and Hannah Neelman have the privilege of not having to

show every aspect of what it's actually like being a housewife. They’re allowed to cherry-pick

what they post and share with the world and what they don't. Although these creators want to

believe they are inspirational to women and young girls everywhere, the truth is that the trad

wife trend makes women feel threatened by one another's choices. The movement’s emphasis

on rigid gender roles and the pressure to conform may contribute to internal conflicts,

exacerbating the already complex relationship between gender identity, societal expectations

and psychological well-being, according to psychologist Mark Travers.

On the other hand, there is a large portion of both women and men who believe that

there is nothing wrong with the current trend of trad-wives, it is simply women who have chosen

to share their lifestyle on popular social media platforms. And a part of that is true; there is

nothing wrong with choosing to be a mother, to be a wife, to stay at home. Some women are

completely content with the lifestyle of a housewife; and that is the beauty of feminism, it allows

for choice. But there is something wrong with taking the choice of being a housewife and turning

it into a commodity to be advertised to little girls. Choosing to be a housewife is not just a way

for girls to “play house” as they get older, it is a commitment just like any other career; and it

shouldn't be popularized through a pressure to conform.