The Gendered Nostalgia of Tradwives As an Affective Expression in the Far-right
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5752/P.2237-9967.2026v15e37544Keywords:
Tradwives, Ideology, Affects, Political minorities, NostalgiaAbstract
This article examines the apparent paradox of minority subjects aligning with reactionary political agendas through the case of tradwife culture. Contrary to explanations grounded in ignorance or false consciousness, it argues that this phenomenon is better understood through the logic of disavowal and affective mechanisms. It proposes the Affective-Ideological Apparatus (AIA) as an analytical framework for conceptualizing ideology not as a system of beliefs, but as an arrangement structured by affective bonds and libidinal investments. In the tradwife case, regressive nostalgia—an idealized reconstruction of a patriarchal and racialized past—emerges as a central ideological mechanism, articulating belonging and stability. Adopting a non-empirical, theoretical-critical approach, the article mobilizes this case heuristically. It concludes that contemporary ideology operates less through belief than through jouissance.
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