'Trad Wives' Are Using Social Media to Romanticize a Return to 'Traditional Values' as More and More Women Face Post-Covid Work/Life Balance Burnout

Social media influencing is a career trajectory," Janning said. "It could be that they're not selling a product but selling a version of themselves, and their husband will be getting the sponsorship. It's a contradiction: their job is to tell people they don't have a job."

Janning points to female socialization that determines the role of women as mothers and homemakers. "We're all wrapped up in the gender system that is telling women this is actually a choice when it's not," Janning said. "It's less of a choice than maybe we think it is."

Portraying their lives as tranquil, aesthetically pleasing, and unburdened by paid work, trad wives position themselves as against hustle culture and burnout — offering a return to traditional roles as a solution to the overwork of women.