Gendered Pathways to Hate: Understanding Women's Radicalization into the Far-Right

Abstract

The rapid growth of social media has changed how ideological narratives are conveyed, increasingly integrating them into mainstream lifestyle content instead of explicit political messaging. This thesis explores how tradwife content on TikTok could serve as a gateway to far-right ideological alignment through a gender-focused lens. Although earlier studies have highlighted connections between the tradwife movement and the far-right, there has been an insufficient focus on how seemingly neutral lifestyle content can normalize beliefs tied to hierarchical social views and promote initial stages of radicalization. This research utilizes a qualitative netnographic approach to examine a group of notable TikTok tradwife creators. Utilizing radicalization theory, ecosystem frameworks for online extremism, feminist theory, and digital media research, the study examines the construction and spread of representations of femininity, domesticity, and authority within TikTok's algorithmic landscape. The results of this thesis show that tradwife content rarely supports overly extremist messages. Rather, it portrays traditional gender roles using visually attractive and emotionally impactful representations of homemaking, motherhood, caregiving, and family dynamics. Continuous exposure, FYP recommendations, and...