By Iris Shen, Banner Staff

Hannah Neeleman stands in a long white dress with puffy sleeves, her long blonde hair in a bun, staring lovingly at a loaf of freshly baked sourdough. It’s a serene and even idyllic scene – but is it real?  

Neeleman, also known as Ballerina Farm on her social media platforms, along with creators such as Nara Smith, have popularized the “tradwife” lifestyle online. A “tradwife,” short for traditional wife, is a woman who adheres to conventional gender roles within a heterosexual marriage. It’s a nod to the ideals of 19th century domesticity, filled with long sundresses, Bible quotes with emojis, and conservative beliefs. On the surface,tradwifery is a peaceful vision of simple living. Yet, beneath the supposedly wholesome imagery lies a more unsettling reality.

The tradwife life that influencers now showcase isn’t true to its 19th century roots. Real “traditional wives” in the 19th century weren’t posting daily on social media or using the lifestyle to make a profit. Neeleman, for example, sells Ballerina Farm apparel and food on her website. English faculty member Ms. Ryan teaches a class called Feminist Perspectives in Literature. The class reads a source by Nancy Cott, a feminist historian, that argued that these 19th century traditional wives, often middle class, were all economically dependent on their husbands. These influencers, however, often have resources and privileges that make their domestic life possible, whether it be a flexible schedule or financial security. For many women today, achieving the image of a “tradwife” would require a strenuous amount of labor with no guarantee of the financial gain that these established influencers can achieve. 

Moreover, the message of “choice” within this movement is also worth scrutinizing. While these tradwife influencers boldly suggest that returning to traditional gender roles is empowering to them, this opinion has an obviously performative element. Many of these women are able to carefully curate and edit the most picturesque moments of their day-to-day life to share with followers. This form of supposed empowerment blatantly ignores the historical struggles that came with domesticity. Julia Oh ’26 agreed, commenting that “romanticizing domesticity is somewhat dangerous because it has the possibility to influence younger, more gullible audiences into believing that being a housewife is the ideal.” Feminists have fought to give women the right to choose their career path, whether it be a successful corporate job or a stay-at-home mom, and without acknowledging the plights and struggles of women throughout history, these influencers risk glorifying one-sided, traditional gender roles. 

The tradwife trend is not a revival of conventional gender roles, but rather a sophisticated business model that capitalizes on nostalgia. By presenting their lifestyles as aspirational, influencers like Neeleman and Smith are selling not only a way of living but also an idealized dream–one with a discreet price tag on it.