Quick Take
Channing Baker, a recent UC Santa Cruz graduate now working at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, is worried about women’s rights under President Donald J. Trump. That’s why she co-founded the Santa Cruz Feminist Society in December. Women need a forum to discuss ideas, she says. The group’s first topic was the “tradwife” – women who spend their days taking care of homes and families and document their lives on social media. “When I first committed to UCSC, I imagined a progressive utopia,” Baker writes. “But in my four years, I found a resurgence of traditionalism even among some of my closest friends.” The group is holding regular meetings and she invites those interested to connect.
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Women’s rights in this country are under assault.
Whether it’s the rollback of reproductive freedoms, the rise of the “tradwife” movement or the relentless dominance of white males in politics and the economy, we are witnessing a disturbing shift that threatens the hard-earned progress of past generations.
This fear led me to help found the Santa Cruz Feminist Society. I’m deeply concerned about the trajectory we’re on, especially when I look at Project 2025 – the 900-page blueprint rolling out in real time and aimed at dismantling gender equality. A handful of Santa Cruz women and I created the society after the November election as a place of connection and action. At our first meeting in December, we chose the topic of the “tradwife,” a modern trick on the 1950s role of the traditional housewife. Over the past year, this phenomenon has weaseled its way into the 21st-century lexicon and is now a viral social media lifestyle.
The women at the meeting spanned generations, including women like me in their 20s, but also some in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. We are professionals in fields that would have been inaccessible to women just 100 years ago. There was a climate data scientist, a clean tech lawyer, a product engineer, an inventor, a business owner and more. I walked into the meeting feeling despondent and cynical about the results of the election. I have just spent four years studying political science at UC Santa Cruz and I felt like I’d poured my energy into a lost cause.
American voters elected an indicted, anti-gender-rights president. All my academic investment felt pointless. Creating the Feminist Society became my way of diverting these pessimistic thoughts and taking action.
When I first committed to UCSC, I imagined a progressive utopia. But in my four years, I found a resurgence of traditionalism even among some of my closest friends. Many in my generation are romanticizing a past when gender roles were rigid and narrowly defined, often tied to white, middle-class, heteronormative ideas. The tradwife concept especially feels like a step backward. This longing for the past is compounded by a vocal movement of men who feel threatened by women’s advances and are desperate to reclaim what they see as their “manliness” and “rights.” We saw this in the election. We are seeing it now in Washington.
During the meeting, we discussed how the tradwife concept takes us back to an era of limited opportunities for women. Prior, I had often heard from people who embraced the movement, from both Southern and Northern California, because they itched for a return to conventional gender roles.
At the meeting, older members shared stories of their families’ distrust of female leadership and the ingrained stereotype that women don’t belong in positions of power. One woman, a product engineer, spoke about the fear she feels for her career under the new political climate and her uncertainty about whether society might regress so far that her already male-dominated tech job could be unattainable for future women. What’s especially intriguing is that these experiences don’t come from the lives of women in the Bible Belt, but from the heart of a coastal California town, Santa Cruz, that likes to proclaim itself progressive.
Today’s media landscape doesn’t help. Conservative voices dominate – whether through pundits, YouTubers or podcasters. As of 2024, over half of the population claims to get their news from social media, increasing the likelihood of these conservative efforts going viral.
The perfect formula for attracting my peers? Begin by sucking them into a feed of beauty tips and fitness hacks, and slowly, through careful political rhetoric, enter them into a wave of conservatism. I see my peers getting indoctrinated into political agendas hidden behind lifestyle influencers.
For many of my friends, the “soft life” has become the ultimate aspiration: marry rich, live luxuriously, do Pilates and sip a matcha latte. Social media influencers play to this ideal. This isn’t just about economic insecurity. The shift is happening on multiple levels – economic, social and political. It’s a reaction to being burnt out and frustrated with the traditional “hustle” mentality while struggling to make ends meet. For many, the “soft life” is less about laziness and more about rejecting a system that demands endless productivity with little reward. It’s all intertwined.
We need a focus on collective liberation, a place like the Santa Cruz Feminist Society to help us unite, rather than framing empowerment as an individual pursuit.
We need systemic remedies to address the root causes that make traditional gender roles seem appealing. We need accessible education on the history of women’s rights, something I wish UCSC had prioritized more during my time there.
We also need an in-depth look into the future. I don’t know how this will happen; UCSC recently closed its historic feminist studies department.
Every day, I am inspired and motivated by the leadership at my work, which is predominantly women-led, and by my mentor, Angela Lipanovich, a local clean energy lawyer and fellow co-founder of the Society. Not everyone has this luxury. This is why I helped create this gathering.
The meeting was the first time since I graduated that I had engaged in intellectual discussion about these topics with other women. I found it refreshing, healing, to hear diverse viewpoints, and I came away seeing that the tradwife argument requires nuance. It’s not about condemning a particular lifestyle choice, but about ensuring women don’t wake up one day and regret their life choice with no other options. Some of us might find fulfillment in traditional roles, but we should also be aware of the larger context shaping these choices.
At the close of the meeting, we had fun and socialized. The Society isn’t just a political, academic group, it’s a space to connect, learn and support each other. One woman is selected at each meeting to write an op-ed or share our ideas in a public forum. This time, it was my turn. I cannot wait to be a part of the conversations that occur over the next year, and hopefully, so will Santa Cruz.
We must preserve the rights women have fought for, and build a future that values equality, sustainability and civil rights for all.
The conversation isn’t over. We’ll be continuing it at our next Santa Cruz Feminist Society meeting. Maybe you will join us?
Channing Baker is a 2024 graduate of UC Santa Cruz, embarking on a new journey in the nonprofit world. She is starting her career at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. She realized that lasting change requires a willingness to shift focus beyond oneself and toward the needs of community. Driven by this philosophy, she is eager to enact change. If you are interested in joining the Santa Cruz Feminist Society, email her at channingbaker12@gmail.com.