From Recipes to Radicalization: Far-Right Rhetoric and the Tradwife Pipeline

This is the dataset of the pilot study From Recipes to Radicalization: Far-Right Rhetoric and the Tradwife Pipeline to be published in Rhetorik. Ein internationales Jahrbuch. 

Abstract

This pilot study examines the strategic and aesthetic rhetorical techniqes used by far-right female influencers and so-called Tradwives use social media to normalize patriarchal ideologies. Using a Corpus-Assisted Discourse Studies (CADS) approach, the language, argumentation and visuals of two influencers – Brittany Pettibone Sellner (BPS), a far-right activist, and Simha Lily (SL), a German-speaking Tradwife, are analyzed. By examining four subcorpora of YouTube and TikTok captions and user comments, the study shows how overt political rhetoric and seemingly apolitical domestic aesthetics both contribute to a “shameless normalization” of far-right and anti-feminist discourse. BPS reframes feminism as harmful, while SL implicitly promotes hyperfeminine ideals through the Tradwive aesthetic. This creates a persuasive discourse of highlighted femininity as an alternative to feminist empowerment. The preliminary results confirm that online influencer culture may serve as a conduit for ideological radicalization, particularly in its gendered dimensions.

Files in this corpus-dataset:

1) 67 files of video transcripts (automated closed captions), downloaded with MAXQDA 24 from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BrittPettibone (as of 13.03.2025)
2) 94 files of exported comments, downloaded with MAXQDA 24 from Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@BrittPettibone (as of 13.03.2025)
3) 17 files of video transcripts (automated closed captions), download from TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@simhalily (as of 03.04.2025)
4) 36 files of exported comments, download from TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@simhalily (as of 03.04.2025)

Access available upon request.