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What Is A 'Trad Wife' And What Is The 'Tradwife Trend'? The Contentious 'Traditional Wife Lifestyle' Explained
There's a surprising number of influencers who are posting their experiences living as "trad wives," and doing so willingly. For years, it's been a topic of conversation among online communities.
More recently, content creators like Estee Williams and Nara Smith have become prominent faces of the trend and have garnered significant virality online.
So, what's up with trad culture, and why are there real-world tradwives out there? Here's everything you should know about the traditional wife lifestyle, why its become a contentious topic as of late and the many memes its spawned.
What Is a 'Trad Wife'?
A "trad wife" or "tradwife" is a woman who embraces traditional values. Often, they're stay-at-home wives or mothers, and they enjoy embracing the role of a homemaker. They're typically associated with more stereotypically feminine things or traditional gender roles like cooking, cleaning and raising a family.
Trad wives are often looked down upon by many who believe it's a demeaning stereotype for women, and one that is pushed on them by relationships with men that lack a balanced power dynamic. They're sometimes accused of embracing harmful stereotypes and trying to encourage other women to do the same.
However, while the role of a trad wife certainly wasn't voluntary for many women in the past, times have changed, at least in the United States. Many modern trad wives are insistent that this is a personal choice they made on their own and argue that it's not a lifestyle they would want to push on other women, but rather one they find personally fulfilling.
Who Are Some Famous Trad Wives?
One famous trad wife is Nara Smith, who converted to the Mormon religion after marrying her husband Lucky Blue. She has two children with her husband, who are named Rumble Honey and Slim Easy. Her cooking TikTok videos have gained a lot of attention online, particularly because she loves to make all her food from scratch.
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7337043427936275754
Another famous trad wife is Estee Williams, who many have compared with a 1950s housewife. She went to college and studied meteorology, but after meeting her husband Conner, she decided to become a trad wife. She posts lots of videos about her life as a trad wife and her traditional lifestyle.
Who Is 'Trad Girl'?
Trad Girl is a frequently seen Wojak character. She first appeared on 4chan in July 2019, and was typically used to represent the stereotype of a "traditional wife" in a positive way.
Rather than having the character be used solely to idolize trad wives over other women, as she was first intended, many meme creators have reclaimed her in a more positive way, often associating her with the less traditional Doomer Girl as her companion in many memes, implying that both female characters are on the same level, without one stereotype being seen as better or worse, unlike the older 4chan memes.
One example of this is the "Do men even have feelings?" meme. At times, Trad Girl's more old-fashioned look is used to make her a member of an older generation (often a grandmother) talking to Doomer Girl.
For the full history of Trad Wife, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
