“Ultimately, while trad wives say they’ve fled the hypocrisy of capitalism, they’ve entered another agreement that is just as contingent on a second party. The romance of trusting a true love to care and provide for you for a lifetime is intoxicating, but it remains an act of faith.”
I have been very bad at posting work but it was such a pleasure to write this piece for @grazia ‘s Idealism issue.
I spoke to academics and digital anthropologists about online trad-wife dom’s origins in the hard alt-right on platforms like Facebook and Discord and the trend (or movements) transition into a form of escapist lifestyle entertainment on Instagram and TikTok. I also spoke to a young self-identified trad wife about the reality of committing to living on a single income in the name of family values when you’re not married to a billionaire or a successful model in your spare time. Interestingly she said one of the most rewarding aspects of her online presence was the sense of community she found with other women.
It’s fairly easy to draw a line between the massive increase in search for the term #tradwife and engagement on these accounts and current political events, it’s more interesting to see how the platforms they’ve grown on have shaped and changed their message (nobody is selling guns and doomsday prepper packs on the clock app so there’s a lot more soothing and digestible puffed sleeves and baking).
When faced with literally everything going on in the world there is huge appeal in a slower more insular life and a deeper connection to family and to be completely honest every time I report on trad wives (a lot more than I expected to this year) I’m left with more sympathy for their desire to retreat from a world that in so many ways, doesn’t reward or respect women.
But as with any social group or cute aesthetic it’s important to look at the origins of the trend and the origins of trad-wifedom are firmly bedded down in white supremacy, hatred of minority groups and gender dynamics that leave women with the right to choose what they’re having for breakfast and little else.
Thanks for having me @pemabakshi and @jessicalbailey_ 💕
@chloemorello ‘s 2012 Candice Swanepoel Victoria’s Secret makeup tutorial literally changed the direction of my life, but now I feel influencers are kind of leaving me behind because they keep buying houses not Urban Decay Setting Sprays. So I wrote about the cognitive dissonance of millennials loving influencer reno content when we’re all plugging leaks in our rentals and forming lifetime enmities with our realestate agents! Turns out you can parasocially-renovate a home. You can find it on @theageaustralia and in today’s @sydneymorningherald and in the link in my bio! ty @katyhallway 💕💕💕 (swipe to end of carousel for moment that made me the woman I am today)
You have about 2.5 seconds to buy the ELLE September issue before December drops because I’m a very late poster but you should because it’s a perfect jewel of a magazine (I gasped when I opened it) and I also wrote in it.
Mags are so special 🙂↕️❤️
The internet is abuzz with the rise of #tradwives, and now The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is taking over TV screens.
So, what’s behind our fascination? And how is this latest show contributing to a conversation about modern Mormonism and feminism?
🎙️ In today’s episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt sits down with @rubyfeneley a journalist and writer for @marieclaireau .
Ruby recently penned an article about the show, exploring how it contributes to conversations surrounding modern Mormonism, feminism, and the evolving roles of women within these communities.
You can read Ruby’s full piece in Marie Claire here.
🎧 The Briefing: We’re hooked on the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives
#tradwives #thesecretlivesofmormonwives #realitytv #mormonism #thebriefing #marieclaire #podcast
Screaming/crying to have my first piece for @dazedbeauty published this week as part of their new Reel Extremes format (Cult cinema and beauty! Get around it!)
I first saw Valerie and Her Week of Wonders when I was 14 and attending a creepy Catholic girls school and it’s a movie that really captures the awkward and horrifying lurch into “womanhood” (sexualisation) female and femme children experience in a funny, surreal and skin crawly way.
It is a *gem* and for everyone who remembers getting cat called when they were 12 or the injustice of having a creepy teacher who flirted with you then give you a bad report card (for legal reasons that person is a figment of my imagination).
Analysing the way beauty intersects with obscure 1970s Czech films isn’t always a huge part of the day-to-day of writing beauty (Afterpay Day is on until the 17th) but as someone to whom beauty has been foundational part of my life and identity it’s very nice to have a place that celebrates its intersection with culture, politics, identity and storytelling so thoroughly and keeps beauty cool and fun! It’s even nicer to be published there!
Thank you for dream commission @akbpeters 💕
Link in bio!
I’m just a girl asking the internet why it desperately wants me to think I’m getting cucked.
Wrote a piece for @theageaustralia about my journey into the labyrinthian psychosexual nightmare that is the world of TikTok relationship trends. From orange peel theory to the bird test, is my algorithm supportive bestie looking out for me, or is there something more sinister and problematic for women at play? (Guess!)
We can’t blame mindless social media algorithms for our insecurities, but they do play on our greatest fears and desires so they can parlay our attention into money. Occasionally this results in surreally unhelpful relationship tips that place a man as the most deserving subject of a woman’s time, attention and Machiavellian instincts.
Please read this article instead of searching any of these trends because I can assure you, it will take weeks to get them out of your algorithm.
Thank you @katyhallway for facilitating discourse and mediating trauma. Thank you my boyfriend for signing off on public mention of his ear infection.
Link in bio.
The secret to great content is make it, then forget about it and don’t post it for four months.
Coming to you before autumn: faking a sunburnt flush with @narsissist High-Intensity Power Matte Lip Pencil in Dolce Vita. The formula launched late last year and is a silky, smooth, blurring, multi-purpose matte.
Lipstick stands in for so many different products I misplace throughout the week and this one is a perfect long wearing dusty rose colour for lips, eyes, cheeks and oppressive humidity 💕
Product #prgifted
