Social media 'tradwives' trend: Stay-at-home mothers share their 'traditional' lives

now to the controversial Trad wives trend on social media stay-at-home mothers who are amassing big followings by posting about their quote traditional lives here's my Nightline co-anchor Juju Chen Trad wives living Trad lives Ivy vanus is a self-proclaimed traditional wife I recommend getting ready doing some makeup putting on a qit before you see your husband my brand is embracing motherhood and enjoying motherhood if you've been on social media you've probably seen the hashtag beautiful women cooking cleaning and embracing life as stay-at-home moms these glossy gorgeous videos showcasing life seemingly plucked out of History the definition of a tradwife is not merely someone who stays at home but who romanticizes it in a sort of retro nostalgic way where we are looking back not only to the way things worked in the ' 50s but the values that families had in the ' 50s The Unofficial Queen of the tradwife movement Nara Smith the 22-year-old former model and mother of three followed by millions other Tik Tok stars like ese Williams also proudly tagging their content it's a trend launching think pieces and op EDS all around the world there's a new generation though of young women they are proudly embracing this label of Trad wife this Trad wife I guess it's a gen Z thing I'm sorry 50 years ago was not a place I ever want to be backa but there could be more at work here a recent study found that tradwife content on less regulated platforms like YouTube and X formerly known as Twitter could steer social media users down the rabbit hole of radical far-right content and misinformation something podcasters and YouTubers are picking up on whether tradwives intend to or not their politics serve as a starting point for alt-right radicalization but as the trend Rises American women are trying to avoid a new culture War pitting moms who work against the moms who choose to stay home I think for a lot of women work is not necessary it's a preference what do you say to the commenters who say you're setting women back 50 years oh I just disagree completely do you ever get criticized for being a working mom on social media there's a lot of criticism of like who's raising your kids right now the trend recently hit a boiling point after Kansas City Chief's kicker Harrison buter said this in a commencement speech last month I think it is you the women who have had the most diabolical lies told to you I loved what he had to say about motherhood um I didn't really find an issue with it at all but how does that work in a modern society where more than 56% of American women are in the workforce significantly more than in 1950 is such a simple little toy but it's really educational Ivy says she always wanted to be a mom so this is just one piece so when you were in college studying broadcast journalism did you have a dream job I've always wanted to be a mom to be honest with you and that doesn't even sound like your classic dream job but I did just want a family now Mom to two boys she juggle snack time and Craft Time with content creation what does being a Chad wife mean to you obviously just a traditional wife I think a lot of people unfortunately kind of have this negative view of the way people used to live I was really close with my grandma and with my both my grandmothers and even my great-grandmother and they were just like the coolest women when I hear Homemaker when I hear a traditional woman I think of really amazing women the tradwife lifestyle is sold as one that is relaxing and beautiful for the people who participate in it and for the husbands and the families who benefit from it it is a vision of a lifestyle that is not really attainable nowadays it's often a privilege to have a single income sustaining an entire family government statistics show more than half of all us households 54% have two incomes that's more than double the number from 1955 not to mention more than 80% of all single parents are moms there's an economic impact and that giving up that Financial Independence is actually putting not just you but your kids future at risk obviously like I have a degree I have things I could do women like me have thought about that and we know that things can go wrong the pros for me outweigh the cons and the reward outweighs the risk and yet research shows as women get older they bear a heavier financial burden especially after death or divorce the average age of widowhood is 59 years old but women on average live decades longer Ivy says she and her husband choose this life knowing the financial sacrifices I will make a list at the beginning of the week of what we're having for dinner the list is based on the ads from the grocery stores around here it's all electronic so I have all my grocery apps it takes so much time and so much like planning I feel like I do a good job of pretending like I have new things but it's all thrift stores it's all Facebook Marketplace this is like Goodwill my other addresses are Goodwill I do not call myself a tradwife I call myself a classic wife really a classic mom for Abby Roth social media has allowed her to share her more conservative views including strong opinions on the roles of men and women are definitely in a position to protect and and make sure that Mom can do what she needs to do so the kids get nurtured and that's the thing that really breaks my heart is the women who would love to stay at home but just feel like they can't feel like they shouldn't feel like they have too many other obligations to their potential a little fish in there yeah the Orthodox Jew and opera singer stepped away from her life on stage and often talks about the expectations women have about about career and family a lot of women are told that they're going to find their fulfillment and they're going to fulfill their potential by their through their careers and then it's harder and harder to meet men and then they find themselves alone and it's hard if you look at somebody's Tombstone that's what it's going to say wonderful daughter wonderful mother wonderful wife it's not going to say wonderful CEO like iy Abby says she's not against moms who work she understands that single moms and two inome household are reality but women have always had a role economically it's just needs to be put in its proper place I think for a lot of women work is not necessary it's a preference even though there's this narrative that being at home means you are giving up your career and giving up your dreams when you have children children become your dream in a lot of ways but many women think you don't have to choose Dr Karen Tang is a board certified OBGYN surgeon and book author she's also been married for nearly 20 years and is the proud working mother of three kids do you ever get criticized for being a working mom and it's not just myself but actually other women Physicians that I know on social media there's a lot of criticism of like who's raising your kids right now and why did you have kids if you can't raise them no one would say that to a man go you're a bit of a Tik Tok sensation oh my God I joke that I'm a geriatric Tik tocker cuz like age-wise I could be the mom of pretty much everyone else on Tik Tok so kind of sealing it close like right under there as a parent specifically a working mom Karen worries that the Trad wife Trend leaves out the important and often difficult parts of Parenthood it's almost more of like an aesthetic like I think a lot of people who see like Trad wives on social media know it's a little bit of a performance some of the criticism of the Trad wife movement is that it pushes women back to not just a 50s aesthetic but a 50s mindset women didn't have rights you couldn't have a credit card or a bank account so I think romanticizing this idea going back in time but not remembering the realities is dangerous what do you make of the fact that when you start engaging with the tradwives hashtag you start getting things like misinformation and conspiracy theories on your for you page exactly it's no longer just that this is a wonderful way to you know like choose to live your life it's become associated with misinformation don't here hands touch being so busy means Dr Tang and her husband share the household duties how untraditional are the gender roles in your family I don't know I I definitely have had people tell me that I'm a full-time dad which I think is kind of a funny way to put it but like yeah I take on a lot of things that I think people might assume are a woman's role sometimes for example I do almost all the grocery shopping a good deal of the cooking we get a lot of help from Ken parents dads are missing out if they're not having these experiences I think we should reexamine what it means to be a man what would you say to somebody who went on your wife's page and said you're not a good mom I would invite them to come and see how hard she works and how much she does hello Karen says the tradwives trend should not be mommy Wars part two women should have that freedom to choose the problem is those who say that you know you shouldn't have a choice that all women should do this like this is the ideal situation for everyone do you consider yourself a good mom oh my God that's a great question and I think my initial response I think says so much because my honest initial response was like I'm okay but I think if you ask my kids I think they would say I'm a really good mom so what did you do today when it comes to feeling like my kids that they feel supported that they're happy they're healthy um you know looking I revised my answer I say I think I'm a really great mom that message of choice and tolerance is one I agrees with what would you say to women who would say to you I love my job I love my career and I don't love my kids any less than you do I would say I believe you and so I wouldn't even challenge that I know that moms love their children I I think a lot of people assume that I think I'm I'm telling everybody you need to do this and you need to live like me and I'm not but I do think a lot of women should consider it that's kind of my message is that you can want this

Channel: ABC News

Views: 26,393

Keywords: abc, controversy, influencer, media, moms, news, p_cmsid=2494279, p_vid=news-111241721, pushback, social, tradwives, trend, women

Id: d1gP4JiY59Q

Length: 10min 27sec (627 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 19 2024