austerity policies , the continued decline of the welfare state , the global financial crisis of 2008 and the management of the Covid-19 pandemic , movements such as the ' girlbosses ' did not lead to significant improvements : Instead , women are faced with an “ always-on ” work culture , stagnating wages , a declining social safety net and an escalating crisis of care ( Kaur , 2022 ).
In an interview with Harmeet Kaur , Annie Kelly , a researcher on antifeminist and far-right digital cultures , noted that the current lower economic growth has created harsh conditions for young people , causing them to look back on the past with “ rose-tinted glasses ” ( Kaur , 2022 ). In a world characterized by rapid social change and economic instability , which contribute to a pervasive sense of uncertainty , tradwives provide online communities for like-minded conservative women who may either not fit into the hectic pace of modern society or maintain very traditional heterosexual relationships ( Sykes & Hopner , 2024 , p . 26 ). Their subcultural norms on how to behave , how to dress and how to act thus provide a sense of stability and predictability ( ibid ). Therefore , the rise of the tradwife with its representation of traditional gender roles can be understood as a sign of social anxiety among young women , acting as " a symptom - and also a reaction - of the increasing insecurity of our time " ( Rottenberg & Orgad , 2020 ).
Over the past few years , emotions such as despair , hopelessness , paranoia and depression have intensified and become characteristic political sentiments that connect to
various contemporary challenges such as financial crisis , enduring structural racism , increasing antifeminism , the growing global gap between the rich and poor , climate change , recent wars and many more ( Bargetz , 2019 , p . 182 ). This essay argues that this instability , along with rapid societal changes , created a sense of loss and nostalgia that gives rise to populist parties and right-wing ideologies and is represented with in the growing popularity of the tradwife community .
Philosopher Franco Berardi ' s notion of a " slow cancellation of the future " ( Berardi , 2011 , p . 18 ) reflects this sentiment . He argues that the psychological perception of the future , shaped by cultural expectations of progressive modernity , has been profoundly altered . These expectations , which peaked after World War II , included myths of continuous development in welfare , democracy and scientific knowledge . The inability to adapt to the new reality fosters a longing for the familiar past ( ibid , pp . 18f ).
Cultural theorist Mark Fisher extended this idea , noting that the period Berardi refers to involved " massive traumatic change ," particularly during the Thatcher-era in Britain ( Fisher , 2013 , p . 23 ). This era ' s neoliberal policies restructured the capitalist economy , altering labor organization through globalization , ubiquitous computerization and labor casualization . Fisher argues that media technology advancements since the 1990s have further changed everyday life , leading to a sense that culture can no longer grasp or articulate the present and possibly even further : that there is no present to grasp ( ibid .). Referring again to Berardi , Fisher notes that the
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