Cultural transgressions and media contestation: a qualitative study of the tradwife trend in Dutch media

This article explores how the tradwife (short for traditional wife) movement, an internet trend where women embrace traditional gender roles and decry feminism, is contested by mainstream media in the Netherlands. Analyzing 44 articles published by diverse outlets between January 2023 and December 2024, this study identifies three key themes of contestation: “Return to the past,” “Fantasy and amusement,” and “Female unawareness.” These discourses frame the movement as regressive, escapist, or misguided. Considering tradwife to be a highly aestheticized form of cultural transgression, it is proposed that these arguments not only reflect a broader cultural pushback against perceived rejections of feminist values but that by framing the movement as relatable or unserious, these contestations inadvertently contribute to the normalization and hybridization of fringe ideologies. This contribution expands previous research on the mainstreaming of extremism, demonstrating how media contestation relates to the diffusion of transgressive ideologies in the digital age.