This thesis explores the resurgence of traditional gender roles on TikTok through the

lens of the “Trad Wife” phenomenon — a digital trend where women aestheticize and

promote conservative ideals of femininity, domesticity, and submission. By examining

how these ideals are embedded within short-form, algorithmically-driven content, the

study investigates their appeal and circulation in contemporary platform cultures.

Through a multimodal content and ethnographic analysis of influencer output and

audience discourse, the research focuses on five prominent creators. Drawing on

feminist media theory and critical platform studies, the analysis unpacks how seemingly

apolitical or lifestyle-oriented content subtly reinforces conservative gender norms.

This thesis draws on key concepts such as postfeminism (Gill, 2007b), neoliberal

feminism (Rottenberg, 2013), and the gendered labor of visibility and self-branding

(Duffy, 2017) to situate the content within a broader cultural moment — one

characterized by growing fatigue with feminist individualism and a nostalgic longing

for ‘simpler’ ideals. The study also examines the role of hashtags like #Homesteading

and #SoftLife as entry points into these value systems, demonstrating how algorithmic

curation blurs the line between empowerment and submission. The findings suggest that

TikTok functions not just as a space of self-expression but as a powerful site of

ideological transmission, where conservative models of womanhood are repackaged in

emotionally resonant and visually soothing forms.