A critical discourse analysis of the Instagram account of a tradwife

Abstract

This thesis investigates how Instagram tradwife content constructs love through aesthetics of submission, dependence, and self-erasure. The research explores how tradwife discourse on Instagram aestheticizes and circulates ideals of control, coercion, and emotional violence as love. Drawing on Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (FCDA) and visual analysis, the study analyzes 62 reels and captions posted by white tradwife influencer Aria Lewis between January 2 and March 30, 2024. Interpretation is guided by Foucault’s theory of power, Butler’s theory of performativity, and Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic violence, which helps trace how submission is produced and made desirable through discourse, embodiment, and visual style. Seven themes structure the findings. They are economic dependence as love, domestic servitude as devotion, illness and failure, spiritualized patriarchy and courtship, aestheticized modesty and historical femininity, scripted femininity, and tradwife discourse as harmless choice. Unequal power is softened through religious language, gratitude, nostalgia, humour, and routine-based formats that frame women’s accommodation, emotional containment, and one-income reliance as moral, safe, and chosen. Rather than showing overt conflict, the account builds a romantic common sense in which hierarchy appears as peace and protection. This creates vulnerability because women’s security depends on a husband’s kindness. The thesis locates coercive control not only in private couple dynamics but also in cultural and digital infrastructures that teach followers what love should look like. It also contributes to tradwife scholarship by focusing on a young woman in a pre-motherhood phase and the scripts she circulates to younger audiences. Keywords: Instagram, tradwife discourse, feminist critical discourse analysis, coercion, influencer culture