Why is homesteading and trad content so appealing?

Most people are miserable at work....

For one week only I’ve lowered the ANNUAL subscription price of this newsletter to $30 (the minimum allowed!). This will end next Sunday 17th. That’s only $2.50 a month to support this newsletter and the Under the Influence podcast and to keep getting this deep dive into how social media is shaping and perhaps destroying our world.

I am also doing personalized copies of Everyone is Lying to You when you order from Bluebird Bookshop. I promise I’ll make them hilarious.

I watched a TikTok last night that made me physically recoil.

@ak47warrenTrump daddy, i love u #fyp

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YES. She did say: “If Trump Daddy is gonna take women’s rights away from me I hope he takes away my right to work because my place is in the home.”

I think there is something worth talking about in here. The idea of work is currently miserable for many (maybe most) Americans. And if you hate your job you want an escape. The fantasy of the trad wife life provides this escape. Some people escape into novels (there’s a reason for the rise of Romantasy my friends). Some escape into extreme sports (sign ups for road races are higher than ever before) and some are escaping into the fantasy of escape, the idea of “not working” by homesteading. 

These accounts have seen their followers sky rocket in the past year. They’re also receiving more funding than ever before from conservatives who want to capitalize on this misery and use it to get more women to choose to check out of work. These posts are VERY persuasive. And it is easy as hell to fall down the rabbit hole of them. Here are some that damn near persuaded me.