Would you ever consider living life as though it were the 1950’s, in accordance with the roles of men and women at the time? Many women, interestingly, seem intrigued by this possibility. Ever since the pandemic, there has been a rise in the number of women who identify as so-called “trad-wives,” who are exactly that. A “trad-wife,” as coined on TikTok, is simply a traditional wife. They observe more traditional gender norms, staying home with their children as their husbands go off to work. They tend to be Christian, and follow biblical values. They are also commonly more conservative, although most outwardly deny having a strong political opinion. The aesthetic that trad-wives promote is quite decadent, with lavish gowns and makeup, baking on whims, and a life far more simplistic than the ones the majority of common women and girls live.
Trad-wives blew up in 2023, when Estee Williams became one of the prominent leaders of the movement. With its inherent rearrangement of traditional values, many are left wondering if the life Estee and others like her promote is one that simply calls back to an older time, and gives respect to traditions of previous decades, or regresses the very notions that feminism fought for, and is just another ploy to keep women oppressed.
Estee Williams, as mentioned above, is one of the leading trad-wives many see when searching up the term on TikTok or Instagram, where the trend largely blew up. After initially garnering a large audience, Estee has gone on to give multiple interviews on conservative talk shows, including the Michael Knowles show, hosted by Michael Knowles, an outspoken conservative and member of the DailyWire, a conservative media group. In an interview discussing the logistics of being a trad-wife, Estee emphasizes the simplicity inherent in the traditional life as she details how she and her husband “write down our budget, and we stick to it, and we live within our means and it’s possible.”
Her interview and content in general, moreover, are pretty positive, boasting fun dresses and daily baked recipes. She also features more serious content, though, including how her life ties back to her Christian faith, and what rules she sets up in her marriage. She often receives mixed reviews, with some applauding at her values, and others disagreeing with her lifestyle. As a whole, she represents a push for more traditional values as more and more women reminisce about simpler times and lives spent home with their children rather than in the cutthroat workforce, spent constantly competing for the next raise.
Some say that Estee represents a positive change, and it’s time for more traditional values to be given the same respect as more modern ones. Women that stay home certainly deserve more respect than they are currently given. These women manage entire households by themselves, often doing the majority of cooking, cleaning, child-rearing, and sometimes homeschooling. These dometic duties often take lots of time and are very laborious and monotonous to complete day in and day out. Women that choose to stay home often value raising their children more than pursuing a career, and find it more fruitful to spend more time at home. Women who support Estee, then, often say she supports the values they hold, and helps give homemaking a more public stage through which to convince young girls to choose their way of life.
On the other hand, those who oppose Estee often claim that she is regressing women and taking for granted the rights feminism fought hard to give her. They often cite the inability to live a life like hers due to constant inflation, and the current economic state of the U.S. These valid concerns seem to elude Estee, whose explanation of her “budget” seems rather like an inflammatory and privileged take on a complex and nuanced issue.
It takes real time and effort to be able to have enough money to live off of just one income, especially in the current economy. Factoring in multiple children and the exponential increase in cost of living, it is often impossible to find a way to stay home, even if they wish to, for women faced with the harsh economic realities of our current time.
Some also call to attention the time period in which being a trad-wife flourished, calling to mind the sexism and racism that ran rampant in society. Still others say that the biblical submission women should adopt towards their husbands is outdated in and of itself, and promotes harmful and dangerous stereotypes. Indeed, the concept of submission is often spouted off by most of these influencers, but never manifests in anything greater than yielding to the superiority of their husbands as per the Bible.
The glaring contradiction remains that Estee and others like her are trad-wife influencers. They preach about women staying home, trusting their husbands, not working etc., yet they are influencers, a job in its own right. Many women, both working and stay-at-home-moms, have called out this blatant hypocrisy presented by most, if not all, of these influencers. It takes time to curate a brand and consistently post content about any topic on social media, and considering the popularity of these pages, most trad-wife influencers are likely being paid for their content as well. It doesn’t seem entirely fair to post about women staying home, while also having a very public job that pays you at the same time. Even if there is real value and truth in what these influencers say, the sheer disconnect between their actions and words turns many girls away from their platforms.
Mahi Patel, a junior at Dublin High, summarized the feelings of many by saying, “I feel like influencers are just trying to make quick money off everything. I don’t think they [trad-wife influencers] really believe in what they preach.” If these influencers wanted to fully embody the values of the women they praise day in and day out, they would focus on their homes, and husbands, not on curating a social media platform and influencing others to follow them. When even the leaders of the trad-wife movement aren’t trad-wives themselves, it often leaves young girls with a bitter taste in their mouths, unsure of whom to truly trust.
In this day and age, women are given a multitude of choices in regards to their career endeavors. Some may choose a ruthless career like business or medicine. Others may choose to be a teacher or psychologist. Still others may choose to stay home to dedicate their time to running their household and raising their children. And somewhere in between, we should acknowledge moms that don’t fit neatly into either one of these boxes. Perhaps some moms stay home, but help their families run a small business. Perhaps some moms work only part-time. All choices should be equally respected, as is the basis of early feminism. Feminism is the choice to pick whatever career suits you best, whether that be working or staying home. Both choices should be equally respected, because women from all careers should be able to recognize the hard work it takes to be something else. The only real issue is when a woman feels forced to work or forced to stay home. As long as she decides herself, knowing all the pros and cons, it is a choice that should be celebrated by all.
While these trad-wife influencers may not be true trad-wives in the strict meaning of the word, they surely bring to light a new perspective and way of life that must be considered when evaluating the current direction of feminism in America.