The Sociology of Rage Bait (+ A Deep Dive into TradWives)

Hi friends! Something that I've been working on is a YouTube video all about the sociology of rage bait that included a bit of a deep dive into the phenomena of tradwives. I'll post the YT video for you to check out but if you were after some heavy academic reading as well (plus, I'm all about repurposing content right now), then this blog is for you! Please enjoy!

Let's start off with some examples of rage bait shall we?

The first example is a woman on TikTok who is actively infuriating her followers by spilling her coffee everywhere (in hindsight it could be satire but I was unable to find the OP).

Wix doesn't allow for embedding TikTok or IG videos (which really sucks, please bring this feature Wix) so here's a few video examples that ya'll might enjoy! Please check out my YT video to see some of the actual videos.

• iricksnacks pronouncing "prosciutto" wrong on purpose - https://www.tiktok.com/@iricksnacks/video/7316221293060246815?lang=en (and yes, this guy enrages me like no other and yep, that just makes me a victim of rage bait but ya know), being on a keto diet for as long as he has been cannot be good for you as it's a diet that was designed only to be implemented for 2 weeks at a time and to treat epilepsy in children. Never having carbs and eating like this all the time must be so bad for your heart PLUS the onion chips - to make chips he literally takes slices of onion puts cheese on them and BAKES them in the oven. I can't. Yep, I know he's winning but ugh. I just have to say the dangers of keto are not good. You can read Healthline's 7 dangers of keto "here."

• therecipeclub making ice cream out of literal toothpaste - https://www.tiktok.com/@therecipeclub/video/7251286396147682586?lang=en

• barfly777 cooking in his bathroom on IG - https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3NjA7egrg3/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=65419032-b412-40b7-b670-5de74caa4cf4

• thecoolestkev not knowing understanding trans people and being a bit of a bigot IMP - https://www.tiktok.com/@thecoolestkev/video/7357405660545518894?lang=en

Rage Bait

So you get the concept right? Do any of the above clips make you angry? Elicit some sort of emotional response from you? Do you feel like you need to go and comment and tell them they're wrong? If so, you've just fallen victim to the rage bait tactic online. Rage bait is probably one of the BIGGEST problems online today.

Rage bait is online content specifically designed to get a reaction or rise out of you and that reaction is usually anger. Content creators and people looking for a go-viral quick scheme (why does this sound like a MLM?) are using rage baiting or rage farming as a way to do so. Online creators are driving engagement through controversy. It's nothing new, trolling is a form of rage bait but they tended to be easier to ignore or block, and this time it's different. And that's because rage baiting can be monetised. Social media platforms will promote rage bait videos because it keeps people on their apps for longer (for the app and for the creator of the rage bait video it's a win-win).

I do want to say here that I'm not talking about people who are just sharing their opinions online, I'm talking about the content that is specifically designed to evoke anger and make you sooo angry/emotional that you're baited into commenting. Sometimes, rage bait is even as simple as people making up stories that are blatantly untrue to gain views (think of all those random cheating scandal videos that are on the rise). I think the one I'm thinking of may have been deleted but it caused outrage!

Wikipedia defines rage bait as "Rage-baiting or rage-farming is internet slang that refers to a manipulative tactic to elicit outrage with the goal of increasing internet traffic, online engagement, revenue and support."

What's the deeper reason for this? Other than those looking to increase their financial capital?

Anger is a powerful emotion. It can elicit quick reactions (i.e., getting someone to react rather than respond) and high engagement. Anger spreads faster and more broadly than other emotions on social media, especially TikTok, and in turn, makes rage bait an effective tool for those looking to gain visibility, and notoriety, or manipulate public discourse in a specific way.

The sociological impact of rage bait is an interesting one. This is because it can feed into the echo chamber effect and also the rise of misinformation. Sometimes, when people interact with content that angers them or elicits some sort of emotional response, they are often interacting with their own ideological bubbles which reinforce their pre-existing biases and beliefs.

Rage bait in such a way contributes to the increasing polarisation of society (i.e., the divergence of political attitudes away from the centre and into right or left extremism). The more rage bait, the more divided people and society become. And it’s not just an individual thing, it affects society as a whole.

The real-world implications of rage bait are significant. It can amplify divisions, stoke conflicts, and even impact elections by manipulating public opinion. Understanding its role helps us become more mindful consumers of online content.

What about tradwives? Let's get to those!

Some example videos:

• esteecwilliams 1 - https://www.tiktok.com/@esteecwilliams/video/7242417097945386286?lang=en

• esteecwilliams 2 - https://www.tiktok.com/@esteecwilliams/video/7214157886358949166?lang=en

• _victoria-lit - https://www.tiktok.com/@esteecwilliams/video/7214157886358949166?lang=en

• naraazizasmith 1 - https://www.tiktok.com/@naraazizasmith/video/7387874959558708523?lang=en

• naraazizasmith 2 - https://www.tiktok.com/@naraazizasmith/video/7365609174148943146?lang=en

• lex.delarosa - https://www.tiktok.com/@lex.delarosa/video/7341606721737051434

Trad wives is a phenomenon that is short for traditional wives – which is basically as it sounds, women embracing traditional gender roles of homemaking, motherhood, and submission to their husbands. I’m gonna struggle not to be biased here, but I hate these ones so much.

The trad wife online is usually someone who romanticises the 1950s stereotypical women's role – where women couldn’t work, they basically had to be a housewife. The trad wives we see online now focus on cooking, cleaning, and looking after the children. But it goes a step further, where it’s not just about those domestic duties – it’s all about doing them from scratch. The reason that many tradwives are able to do this is basically – they are showing off how much money their husbands are making and dividing the classes. Check out the following tik tok video discussing how it's all about class - https://www.tiktok.com/@professorneil/video/7339254814578150661?q=trad%20wive&t=1721194214855

It’s not about equality, it’s about gender inequality and reinforcing the patriarchy (i.e., favoured dominance of men in society). Trad wife content isn’t aimed at an audience of women, it’s aimed at an audience of men who want submissive wives, wives who will do as the men say (it feels like one of those religions where men get to control women's bodies and honestly, ick, ick, ick). I read an amazing article in The New York Times by Jessica Grose (2024) who highlights that the discussion surrounding tradwives as "heightened provocation"(i.e., rage bait) where many stay-at-home mums (that act as trad wives online) often complain about the hate they get online for being a stay at home mum but the problem is they rely on that hate in order to create engagement online. The cycle is f*cked (for lack of a better term).

And no, none of this refers to the typical stay-at-home parents out there (as already said) – that is completely different. It’s about women who specifically think and argue that modern or post-modern or post-postmodern feminism has undervalued traditional femininity and domestic skills. It also reinforces the nuclear family stereotype and if you’re unfamiliar with that, it’s the idea of a mum, dad, and kids family (heterosexual). And personally, I think we’ve come a long way from that stereotype. I also think it’s important if you are in a relationship or marriage or partnership of any kind, that everything is shared – it doesn’t have to be 50/50 but you do what works for you. A relationship should be built on communication, trust, compromise, and common ground. It shouldn't be about control or who's expected to do what. Both parties (no matter their sex/gender) should be able to do things like domestic duties, look after children if they have them, and all the other stuff!

Such trade wives, and I refer to Jessica Grose again here, portray feminists (contemporary ones) as haters “who resist their true nature and casting career women in opposition to women who don’t work for pay”. But it’s also ironic because these trad wives often make $$$$ for their content. Some even make courses about “how to be a trad wife”. Honestly, I don't think I could handle a course like that - what's that quote, question everything or become a victim of society? I can't remember who said it (or am I just misremembering a Green Day lyric)? Anyway, the point is, question everything! A child like wonder and curiosity of "but why" is SOOOO important.

I also want to note here that these trad wives are very particular with what they wear too, it’s usually long frilly dresses that kinda look like the ones women wore in the 1950s, they portray themselves as “conventionally” pretty and are typically Conservative Christian. Tradwives lean into the traditional gender role that a woman’s place is in the home. For me, this is problematic because it reinforces that "women in the kitchen" stereotype and perpetuates the cycle of extremist men and MRAs (discussed below).

I don’t think that there are many young women out there who are suddenly going to drop their dreams, get married, and stay in the kitchen making food from scratch for their kids or make paper from scratch – but there may be a few (although making paper from scratch is actually pretty cool but also unnecessary). And that’s the scary part, the content isn’t aimed at indoctrinating women into being submissive tradwives, it’s critiquing them for sure, but it’s also reinforcing men who don’t treat others right, reinforcing hegemonic masculinity, and a future problem where these tradwives are going to amass a large about of right-leaning (extremist probably) men followers. And this could radically change the future of the world.

Therefore, the tradwife movement intersects with broader social and cultural conversations about gender roles, feminism, personal choice, and politics, with many arguing that modern feminism has undervalued traditional femineity and domestic skills.

This movement can also be seen as a reaction to contemporary gender norms, kinda like a catalyst event (a catalyst event is when X happens that may cause Y to happen). Trad wives are a counter-narrative to the feminist movement that advocates for a return to perceived traditional values. However, it also sparks debate about choice and autonomy. The idealisation of past gender roles can obscure and increase the systemic inequalities that have existed and still exist now and it could be that nostalgia – a longing for the past and simpler times can sometimes be a pushback against the progress that has been made for gender equality.

Something that may also be important to mention here is that embracing traditional gender roles can be empowering ONLY if it’s a personal choice and raises important questions about the diversity of feminist thought and the spectrum of choices available to women today.

So how do rage bait and tradwives interconnect? Well both are byproducts of the digitalisation of society, and both thrive on social media engagement: clicks, views, comments, etc. Both rage bait and tradwives reflect the complexities of today’s world and social values. Rage bait plays with our emotions to drive division while the trap of the trad wife (also a form of rage bait) taps into the longing for perceived stability and simplicity in a socio-cultural flux.

The key takeway is critical engagement – both are trends that are designed to drive engagement and do it in ways that are viral. I urge all of us, including myself, to be mindful of what content we consume online and what the motivations are behind it. If we encounter rage bait or trad wife content, we must question the implications and recognise the impact of our participation.

In conclusion, navigating the digital world requires a balance of awareness and empathy. By dissecting these phenomena, we can better understand the forces shaping our online interactions and the real-world consequences they carry.

Thanks for reading!

Much love,

Ash xx

Some more readings

• Bankson, C. (2024), 'It's Time to Call Out Rage Baiting on TikTok,' Cassandra Bankson, https://www.cassandrabankson.com/blogs/latest/its-time-to-call-out-rage-baiting

• Chatterjee, S., & Panmand, M. (2022). Explaining and predicting click-baitiness and click-bait virality. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 122(11), 2485-2507.

• Humphrey, L. (2024). 'What is rage-baiting, why is it all over TikTok?' The Post, https://www.thepostathens.com/article/2024/04/rage-baiting-tiktok-media-literacy

• Jones, CT. (2024), 'These Influencers Are Making Content To Make You Agry - And It's Working,' Rolling Stone, https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/what-is-rage-bait-influencers-making-people-angry-1234976621/

• May, E. (2024). Making Our Society Whole: Can Interfaith Conversation Counter Rage-Farming with Love-Farming? Consensus, 45(1), 7.

• https://www.michigandaily.com/arts/digital-culture/the-tradwife-trilogy-part-1-tradwives-mark-the-return-of-the-lobotomized-1950s-housewife/

• https://womensagenda.com.au/life/tradwives-dangerous-to-feminism-or-passing-internet-trend/

• https://theconversation.com/far-right-tradwives-see-feminism-as-evil-their-lifestyles-push-back-against-the-lie-of-equality-219000