The podcast delves into the 'cult' of tradwives with guests Anne Helen Petersen and Reese Oliver. They discuss the disturbing trend of traditional wife culture blending biblical womanhood with social media aesthetics. The conversation explores the racist and sexist ideologies of tradwives in a modern context, dissecting the allure and dangers of this regressive movement.
01:17:31
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Tradwife Motivations
Some trad wives are deeply ingrained in fundamentalist Christianity, viewing any other lifestyle as damning.
Others, often following trauma, find comfort in the strict rules and defined roles of tradwifery.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Anne Helen Peterson's Background
Anne Helen Peterson's interest in trad wives stems from her upbringing around Mormons and evangelical Christians in Idaho.
Her familiarity with these communities and their beliefs fueled her exploration of the trad wife phenomenon.
insights INSIGHT
Disillusioned Women
Some trad wives are women who, disillusioned with modern life, retreat to a romanticized domesticity.
These women often have a strong social media presence, using it to promote their lifestyle.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
First of all, we are downright GIDDY to share two iconic voices on this week’s episode—not only our expert guest, culture reporter (and personal hero of Amanda’s) Anne Helen Petersen, but also Sounds Like A Cult’s very own intern (actually recently promoted to coordinator 😎), Reese Oliver!!! Speaking of new voices, team SLAC has been cooking up additional cult leaders to add to the hosting rotation later this year, and Amanda is v excited not to have to converse all by herself 😂 In all seriousness, everyone at team SLAC has been feeling a lot of gratitude lately, and we want to thank you listeners for sticking around for this wacky roller coaster ride. NOW, onto introducing the “cult” of tradwives. Short for “traditional wife,” this disturbing cultural craze marries idealizations of biblical womanhood with romantic social media aesthetics to create a freaky wave of politically regressive influencers, who’ve rejected feminism in favor of oppression… but make it "cute?" In between churning their own butter and brushing their naturally birthed kids’ hair, tradwives evangelize a host of ideologies so racist and sexist, at first it seems like a bit… and then it’s not. SCARY!!!! Join Reese, Anne, and Amanda down the rabbit hole, as they attempt to puzzle out this confounding modern-day “cult.”
To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here :) To subscribe to her new Magical Overthinkers podcast click here!
Thank you to our sponsors, who make this show possible:
Get 20% off your first order of Liquid I.V. when you go to LiquidIV.com and use code CULT at checkout
Go to stopscooping.com/SLACand enter promocode SLAC to save an EXTRA $50 on any Litter-Robot bundle.
Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.
Sounds Like A Cult 
