We have become a society of neologisms.

But you likely know that. Even if you don’t know what the word means.

Webster explains this is a noun used to describe “a new word, usage, or expression.”

A few examples include beatnik, cyberspace, and workaholic.

Newer uses might include names of a famous couple like Brangelina (Brad and Angelina) or “geobragging” (status updates on your location) or “metrosexual,” referring to a man who spends much time and money on his appearance.

Admittedly, the more “culture cool” you are, the more you get these.

So…have you heard this one—“tradwife?”

The influencer movement has given us this neologism which might easily be found on Instagram.

The Babylon Bee gets it pretty close by saying it’s “a totally new concept where women marry, have kids, take care of those kids, love their husbands, and engage in traditional home-making tasks.”

Okay, except for the “totally new” part.

Pick any generational grouping—Boomers, Gen X or Y or Z or whatever you identify as, and you will find tradwives have been around a LONG time. However, their numbers have been dwindling. Even for a woman to admit she is a “stay-at-home mother” can, at minimum, draw a bit of snarl.

Even in the Christian crowd. 

And it’s often followed by a few lines of defense like… “But I also do volunteer work” or “I help in my husband’s business.” Like doing mounds of work around the house, being a professional taxi, coaching kids in sports, attending Bible studies or the buzzillion of other tradwife duties should somehow fall short of importance in life.

My own mother preferred being a tradwife. She enjoyed cooking, sewing, keeping family relationships going on the phone, and cleaning. Okay, maybe she didn’t enjoy the cleaning. But she never complained….except when her Electrolux broke.

As you might guess, a lot of the press on tradwives sees this life as ultraconservative. The writer Anne Helen Petersen recently published an article titled (humorously to me) “#TradWife Life as Self-Annihilation.” Her primary “boxes” for tradwives include:

• Evangelical Christians living out some understanding of “biblical womanhood.”
• “God-loving” Mothers Who Are More Into the Aesthetics and/or Homesteading. (Often patriotic, they mention God occasionally)
• Stay-at-Home-Girlfriends who (as she describes) “are definitely not modeling Biblical Womanhood and would probably be embarrassed to be in the same article as #tradmoms (and vice-versa.)” Ya think?

Looking for a more “Godly” perspective? The you might like reading the Christianity Today’s piece titled, “Tradwife Content Offers Fundamentalism Fit for Instagram.”

It’s written by Kelsey Kramer McGinnis a musicologist and educator based in Iowa. Probably a LOT of tradwives can be found in the Hawkeye state. Although I wouldn’t anticipate Caitlin Clark to join their ranks.

A couple of lines from McGinnis’ article stood out to me.

Like this: “Unlike other influencers who create content about homeschooling or homesteading, a tradwife influencer makes faithfulness to some aspect of “traditional” womanhood a central tenet of their online brand and identity.”

Get that? Tradwives are their own brand! Way cool.

And Wheaton College Associate Professor of Theology Emily McGowin was quoted as saying,

“The tradwife trend looks to a mythic past where everyone knew their role. We’re in a time of confusion and ugliness. People are looking for something beautiful and appealing, a time when things were simpler, even though we know things weren’t actually simpler.”

Looking for the model mother in the Bible? Best wishes on that search. Abraham’s wife Sarah lacked patience. She gave her “slave girl” up to her husband’s embrace. That did not turn out well. How about the evil Jezebel? Or Athaliah? Both might have inspired the Eagles to write the song, “Witchy Woman.”

Plenty of Godly mothers show up in the Bible. Like Ruth, who birthed Obed, grandfather of David. A woman of high character. Of course Jesus’ earthly mother Mary ranks high among women. And her cousin Elizabeth. Let’s not forget the many godly women the apostle Paul mentions. There were likely some tradwives in there.

Then there’s the Proverbs 31 woman. Supergirl! Possibly Solomon’s mother. That depends on how you perceive the likelihood that King Solomon gave us this chapter using the name King Lemuel.

That woman’s curriculum vitae sends shivers up the spine of many women.

My wife Rhonda is a tradwife extraordinaire.

And I love her for it.

She’s homeschooled our three kids for a season. She’s worked outside the home when needed. Rhonda is an excellent cook and manager of our home. AND she’s led a women’s Bible study for several years.

In 2023, I bought her a t-shirt from a lighthouse in Wisconsin. On the back it says, she’s “a keeper.” 

To all who are mothers, thank you for your love and years of caring for your family.

And if you are a “tradwife” mom, your service is invaluable.