Tradwives Are Living My Book — They Just Won't Say the Word

I think tradwives and I would get along. I really do. Master reminded me that the last one I met was jealous of my life — but she didn't even know she was a tradwife. She was an in-the-closet traditionalist who thought she was progressive. Maybe I just need to find one who's fully out.

Here's what I keep noticing, especially now with International Women's Day approaching: tradwife influencers are everywhere. Millions of views on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube. They're making sourdough from scratch. They're wearing aprons and speaking softly. They're showing a life of devotion to their husbands, their homes, their children. And their audiences can't get enough of it.

But listen carefully to what they say — and more importantly, what they don't say.

They'll say they're dedicated. Devoted. Traditional. They'll talk about serving their families, about finding purpose in the home, about choosing this life freely. They'll describe something that sounds exactly like conscious submission — without ever using the word.

And that's not an accident. That's branding.

They learned early that "submission" is a dirty word. It gets you flagged, reported, debated. It makes people uncomfortable. So they wrapped the same concept in flour-dusted aprons and cottage-core aesthetics and called it "traditional womanhood" instead. Same cake, different frosting.

A 2026 study published in a sociology journal actually tracked this phenomenon — what they called "The Rage of Tradwives." These women are building content empires. They have brand deals, production teams, revenue streams. Behind the soft-spoken, baking-from-scratch persona is a CEO running a media business. And there's nothing wrong with that — I respect the hustle. But let's be honest about what it is.

That's not submission. That's marketing.

Real submission isn't performed for an audience. It doesn't come with a ring light and a content calendar. It's not something you film for the algorithm and turn off when the camera stops rolling. Real submission is what happens at 2 a.m. when nobody's watching. It's trusting your partner to lead even when you disagree. It's the unglamorous, unsexy, daily practice of choosing to surrender control — not because you have to, but because you decided to.

I wrote a book called Why Submissive Women Are Happier. I said the word. I called him Master. I described what real surrender looks like — not for a reel, but for a life. And yes, it cost me. People were uncomfortable. People judged. But at least what you see is what you get.

The irony of International Women's Day is this: both sides of the debate — feminists and tradwives — are talking about submission without saying it.

Feminists celebrate women breaking free from traditional roles. But what are they actually breaking free from? Submission. The word they refuse to examine because it threatens their entire framework.

Tradwives show women choosing traditional roles. But what is that choice, stripped down to its core? Submission. The word they refuse to say because it would alienate their audience.

And then there's me, standing in the middle, just saying it.

Submission isn't a dirty word. It's not a weakness. It's the most honest description of what both camps are either running from or performing without acknowledgment. The tradwife making her husband's lunch on camera is submitting. She just rebranded it. The feminist who goes home to her partner and lets him make the big financial decisions is submitting. She just doesn't call it that.

Everyone submits to something. The only question — the one I built my entire life around — is whether you do it consciously or unconsciously.

So this International Women's Day, while feminists fight tradwives and tradwives fight feminists, I'll be here. Saying the quiet part out loud. Living the life they're all circling around but won't name.

Because the word they're all afraid of? It's the one that actually set me free.

Sources:

The Rage of Tradwives — SAGE Journals (2026)

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