By skyforbes 
Pastel propaganda is targeting women’s freedom through reels about baking and relationships. But what if, instead of a recipe for happiness, we’re watching a return to a well-powdered past?
A Meme Invasion into Our Instincts
In recent months, a growing phenomenon has emerged on TikTok and other social media under the hashtag #tradwife — short for “traditional wife” — with over 1.1 billion views in the last month alone. Hundreds of thousands of videos promote 1950s aesthetics, cozy homemaking, and female submission to male authority. A recent study from the University of Hawaiʻi revealed how this community spreads anti-feminist ideology, repackaging conservative gender roles as “empowerment.”
Unlike the prevailing “lean in” culture, which encourages women to balance career and family, tradwives advocate for a return to traditional roles and outright reject the idea that women can — or should — do both.
The Guardian also recently analyzed the growing “womanosphere” ecosystem, where influencers like Brett Cooper (the second fastest-growing political YouTuber in Q1 2025, with +900,000 new subscribers) and Candace Owens (after rebranding into a soft “orchid” aesthetic) blend wellness content, lifestyle tutorials, and retro recipes with messages like “be thin, fertile & Republican.”
Even in the Czech online space, signs of the tradwife and “femosphere” trends are surfacing — our feeds are increasingly flooded with accounts offering advice on how to be the “perfect wife” or a “feminist who doesn’t want to be alone.” But how did a seemingly harmless lifestyle trend become a tool for political manipulation in favor of conservative values?
Follow the Money: Who’s Funding It?
At first glance, this looks like a grassroots revival of nostalgic values — women baking bread, sharing budgeting tips, and praising “masculine decisiveness.” But the womanosphere is not an organic movement. It’s heavily subsidized and orchestrated by elements of the American far right, aiming to undermine liberal values — especially since data from the past 10–15 years show that younger generations of women are increasingly leaning liberal.
One of the key figures behind this is Leonard Leo, a conservative lawyer and architect of Trump-era judicial dominance. In 2024, he was linked to the transfer of over $1 billion into media and cultural initiatives designed to “crush liberal dominance.” These funds flowed through dark money networks like DonorsTrust and foundations tied to Alliance Defending Freedom.
Platforms such as Evie Magazine, podcasts like POPlitics (Alex Clark), and content from Candace Owens no longer serve as ideological forums. They function as efficient marketing ecosystems. Influencers receive affiliate commissions for promoting cosmetics, fertility supplements, and homeware, and the algorithms systematically favor content that aligns with the “conservative lifestyle standard.”
Alex Clark, supported by Turning Point USA, hosts the podcast Culture Apothecary, which frames wellness and beauty themes while advocating anti-abortion laws and rejecting gender equality. The aesthetics — pastel colors, vintage dresses, gentle voices — create the illusion of an apolitical space.
The Czech Parallel
There’s no clear evidence yet that Czech influencers are financially connected to the same American sources. Still, we can see signs of similar ideological narratives disguised under different labels. Visually polished sites promoting “conscious femininity,” “natural motherhood,” or “healthy homemaking” adopt similar motifs to platforms like Evie Magazine or TPUSA. They offer “female growth” courses, homemaking tips, and relationship advice — all subtly reinforcing the image of a submissive, self-sacrificing, and fundamentally apolitical woman.
Some of this content is translated from English; others are created locally with the same aesthetics and rhetoric. Reels emerge where women share their “realization that feminism never helped them” and claim they’ve “returned to their feminine essence.” These narratives are often watched by men frustrated in dating and relationships — men who view this image of the “right woman” as a cure for their disappointment.
It’s crucial to watch whether this style of communication will seep into political campaigns. SPD, for example, has long used the visual of the “traditional family” to appeal to male voters yearning for order and stability. For them, the womanosphere offers an ideal fantasy: a partner who never asks the wrong questions. What more could they want?
The Anatomy of Propaganda: Aesthetic as Teflon
One reason womanosphere content spreads so smoothly is its mastery of visual language. Unlike the crude, aggressive style of the manosphere, this trend leverages soft aesthetics: pink filters, handwritten fonts, floral motifs. But this visual softness masks a hardened ideological core.
Here’s a summary table of the womanosphere’s aesthetic tactics:
Womanosphere doesn’t attack directly — it operates subliminally. And that’s precisely what makes it so dangerous. It bypasses our critical defenses by cloaking authoritarian and anti-feminist messages in the language of “natural femininity” and calm lifestyle advice.
Male Radicalization in Practice
While the womanosphere tries to soothe women and lure them away from liberal ideals, it also affects men. It speaks to angry, frustrated young men (aged 18–35) who feel excluded from relationships and society. In anonymous forums, memes, and podcasts, they vent about injustice and search for scapegoats — often blaming women for their own lack of success.
These men are often raised by mothers who never taught them that they are not their mother’s partner — they are meant to grow into mature men. But when Mom still cooks, cares, and serves them like little princes, how would they learn?
Womanosphere gives these men an illusion of a solution: women who will be grateful, submissive, and non-demanding. As these men lose faith in a society that “betrayed” them and start longing for a “new order” with combustion engines and restored patriarchy, the pastel propaganda walks in. Tradwife isn’t just a vision of women’s roles. It’s a fantasy where men reclaim control over women.
Psychologically, this is a textbook case of compensating for a lost identity. Professional or sexual failure transforms into a desire for domination. Womanosphere creates a space where this dominance seems “natural” — as a return to how things once were. Add the algorithmic bubble effect, and the message intensifies and repeats.
Whether motivated by love, loneliness, or immaturity, womanosphere redirects that energy into ideology. Its “femininity” becomes less about women’s freedom, and more a mirror of male frustration and depression.
“Wife Manufacturing”: Pronatalism as a Market Strategy
A woman as an ideological investment — this is the essence of the conservative pronatalist logic behind the womanosphere. Sound exaggerated? Watch closely. First, attract women through lifestyle content about “feminine essence.” Then train them into specific gender roles via femininity coaching and prep-for-marriage communities. Finally, package them as “ideal wives” to men seeking “value-based partners.” Sometimes even through international dating.
What accelerates this process is socioeconomic pressure: rising living costs, insecure job markets, collapsing childcare and healthcare systems. Ever tried to get your kid into a decent preschool? Or find a good public school? Womanosphere offers a solution: stability in exchange for obedience. Many women, driven by the longing for children, fall for it.
Even the topic of fertility clinics can become a tool for ideological control. When Czech billionaire politician Andrej Babiš bought up a chain of nine reproductive clinics across Turkey and the Balkans, it wasn’t just business. It’s about power — over who becomes a parent, when, and how. That’s no small thing when it comes to shaping the political future of a grateful little nuclear family.
What Can Be Done?
Womanosphere succeeds because it doesn’t scream. It whispers. It offers safety, certainty, prosperity. It doesn’t attack rights — it “just reminds us of values.” Like SPD’s anti-immigration posters that led one elderly man to cut down two trees to block a train “full of invaders.” Luckily, both drivers hit the brakes in time.
The response must be calm and consistent — not hysterical. Not counter-attacks, but building resilience.
Schools must teach visual and narrative literacy. Students need to learn how to read between the lines — analyze tone, aesthetics, and intent. Example: dissect a beauty reel that’s secretly preaching ideology.
The public has a right to know who funds political content and influencer marketing. We need tools to track media, money, and manipulation. While Czech law provides a registry of contracts and beneficial owners, public awareness is sorely lacking. We need a proper political fact-checking body — a “PoliCzech” — to slap our politicians with data-based wake-up calls.
Supporting Genuine Female Culture
Rather than fighting womanosphere, we should uplift cultural alternatives — community projects, podcasts, visual documentaries, offline events — that are diverse, independent, and ideologically open. Feminism doesn’t have to be harsh. It can be gentle, profound, and beautiful. Like women themselves.
And finally, we must work with men. Break the link between frustration and control. Show that partnership in family life is not weakness — it’s strength. If womanosphere attracts angry men, our response isn’t demonization, but empathy. Let’s admit: it’s not easy being a man on a cultural crossroads either.
A Rage That Seeks a Bride
Behind the glossy reels and traditional cake recipes lies something darker than just nostalgia for 1950s commercials. Womanosphere isn’t a return to Eden — it’s a flight from it. A flight from freedom, which is hard. A flight from partnership, which requires work. A flight from equality, which isn’t free. And every escape has its cost.
This isn’t just about women. It’s about all of us. Will we accept cultural manipulation masked as “just a pretty picture”? Or will we learn to read it like a contract — carefully, skeptically, and with awareness?
Womanosphere is not a viral coincidence. It’s a deliberate strategy to reverse a historical tide that’s favored freedom, equality, and critical thinking. Inclusion, creativity, and science? Forget it.
Today’s girls face a new challenge: not just to be themselves, but to recognize when someone is feeding them a lie about who they should be. And today’s men? They might just have an even bigger opportunity — to grow beyond their own anger and seek real partnership, not domination.
Don’t fall for the notion that women’s freedom threatens men. On the contrary. It’s a chance for both. A world where women are neither weapons nor prey, but equal players, is a freer world. Not an easier one. But one that is far more joyful at heart — for all of us.
How to Recognize Propaganda on Social Media
- Watch out for emotional manipulation and oversimplified slogans
Propagandistic content often uses highly emotional language designed to provoke fear, anger, or hope. Slogans like “return to true values” or “save the traditional family” may sound positive, but often serve to mask ideological messages. Be cautious of content that seeks to stir strong emotions without providing concrete information. - Visual aesthetics as a persuasion tool
Propaganda frequently employs attractive visual elements: pastel colors, overly harmonious imagery, and stylized fonts to create a sense of trust and comfort. This aesthetic can conceal manipulative content. Pay attention to whether the visuals are distracting you from a problematic message. - Lack of verifiable sources and one-sided information
Reliable content typically cites specific sources, such as studies, official statistics, or reputable institutions. If you come across a post making bold claims without citing sources or presenting only one side of the story, it’s a clear sign to proceed with caution.