Tradwife Influencers in the U.S. and Türkiye: A Comparison of Traditional Womanhood and Family Roles on Social Media

Authors : Ayşe Yavuz, Pelin Erdal Aytekin

Pages : 301-319

Doi:10.31123/akil.1629970

View : 188 | Download : 129

Publication Date : 2025-04-28

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The depiction of gender roles has been persistently revised in reaction to cultural changes, significantly influencing the organization of social life. In contemporary society, social media has intensified this influence through evolving and increasingly powerful viewing practices, making it even more impactful. Consequently, gender-related stereotypes continue to be produced and transmitted, while at times undergoing change and transformation. This study aims to comparatively analyze the representation of the traditional wife movement—an emerging phenomenon in the post-COVID-19 era, often argued to be a product of right-wing ideology—by examining the three most-viewed Reels videos of two prominent Instagram influencers, one from the United States and the other from Türkiye, through the method of thematic analysis. The selected Instagram accounts, Ballerina Farm and Ozden.Ozdogan, constitute the sample of this study. Their videos were subjected to thematic analysis, focusing on recurring themes such as traditional gender roles, family life, and the emphasis on raising multiple children. The findings indicate that Ballerina Farm’s content romanticizes traditional domestic life and labor, portraying femininity, motherhood, and wifely duties within a modern aesthetic of rural living. In contrast, Ozden.Ozdogan\\\'s content underscores the traditional family structure with more modern elements, emphasizing women’s gender roles, particularly in the context of motherhood. The study concludes that the traditional wife identity, shaped by distinct cultural contexts, is being reconstructed as a new digital identity on social media platforms. This digital identity not only recontextualizes an existing concept but also serves as an instrument of patriarchal dominance, commodifying female identity and transforming it into a commercial object. Both accounts construct a complex and multifaceted digital identity for the traditional wife, re-contextualizing feminine roles in response to changing social and cultural expectations.
Keywords : geleneksel eş, fenomen, geleneksel cinsiyet rolleri, sosyal medya, kimlik

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