This thesis examines tactics of conservative influence by the tradwife community on TikTok as observed through a case study of three popular tradwife influencers alongside twelve qualitative interviews with US women during an election year. This mix-methods approach is informed by Social Drama Theory with application of self-congruity theory and recognition to the influence of influencers through perspectives of mediatization theories. The case study analysis exposes tradwife influence through stages of Social Drama to propagate an effective narrative that women have lost their sense of, and must return to, traditional femininity, as a solution to the difficulties modern feminism has caused. While the interview participants related to the struggles of contemporary womanhood, they expressed firmness in their ideologies, sourced from their respective communities, and that tradwife content will not affect their mindset. However, they recognize tradwives as having great potential to influence those more susceptible. As this thesis unfolds— community, the having or lacking of it, proves to be key in susceptibility for influence. This thesis occurs during and references the 2024 US American Presidential year, where Republican policy orchestrators aim to cement traditional Christian conservative ideologies into the federal government through the Heritage Foundation’s detailed instructions in Project 2025. The research exposes the impact of consuming aesthetic conservative content from tradwives as having the potential to affect the voting behavior of young US women, and subsequently, their corresponding potential to make conservative ideologies central to government policies. Through identifying the loss of femininity as a crisis in need of urgent remedy, the study finds tradwife use of aesthetics, personal testimony, relatability, and authenticity to be effective tactics in the ability to influence. Young, voting US women are identified as perceiving the conservative rhetoric through Tradwife influencers as potent and able to sway young audiences. Concerning Project 2025, however, there was a lack of awareness that inhibited analysis, drawing such results as inconclusive.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mau-69622 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Simpson, Sabrina |
| Publisher | Malmö universitet, Institutionen för konst, kultur och kommunikation (K3) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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