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2024-07-28 08:59:00
To the world, Hannah Neeleman has a fairy-tale life straight out of an episode of Little House on the Prairie. The beautiful 33-year-old woman lives in a large white wooden house situated on an idyllic 328-acre farm in Utah, USA. She is a full-time housewife, dedicating her life to caring for her eight children and husband, for whom she prepares elaborate meals from scratch daily, using ingredients she harvests. There are no cell phones, tablets , or television in her home, except for one device that records everything, which she uses to create content shared with her 7.5 million followers on TikTok under the pseudonym Ballerina Farm.
Is she a traditional wife or a businesswoman? Young people watching her videos wondered, nostalgic for the apparent “loss” of past gender values, and suspicious of a reality that hyper-consumerist society denied them.
However, a quick background check led her audience to discover that her family ties are not as humble or austere behind the scenes. Her husband, Daniel Neeleman, is one of the sons of entrepreneur David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue and four other major airlines around the world. “So it was all a sham,” “it was a staged set,” “she is just another privileged white woman,” users incredulously wrote on social media.
But no. Hannah never pretended. And if she is to be blamed for anything, it would be for romanticizing her reality and showing an endearing countryside life when she had to abandon her passion for ballet due to family life that was so exhausting that “sometimes she gets so sick from exhaustion that she can’t get out of bed for a week,” as revealed by her partner.
In an article from The Times, Hannah Neeleman was described as “the queen of the tradwives,” a movement that glorifies a lifestyle based on 1950s and 1960s Christian ideals, dictating that a woman was born to dedicate herself to home and family care. In this figure, the wife owes blind obedience to her husband, and the man becomes the primary provider.
In Spain, a popular 22-year-old influencer, known as Roro, was the latest to be criticized under this label for posting videos where she cooks “what she feels like” for her boyfriend while explaining her procedure in a delicate, sweet, and even passive tone. Like Hannah, her qualities have made her an object of idealization for several conservative men, even proclaiming her as “the terror of feminists.”
However, before calling herself Ballerina Farm, Hannah was indeed a ballet dancer trained at the Juilliard Academy, one of the most prestigious institutions in the world that only accepts 24 students per year. “I didn’t always want this life. I left home at 17 and was excited to get to New York; I loved the energy of the city. And I wanted to be a dancer; I was good,” she told The Times.
But her future husband had other plans for her. He was 23 when he met her and immediately wanted them to marry. For six months, he tried to woo her by every means possible, and he only succeeded when they “casually” encountered each other on a flight, sitting next to each other. Hannah believed it was fate, while Daniel omitted that his father owned the airline and he had arranged the meeting.
“At the time, I thought we should date for a year. That way I could finish school and everything else. And Daniel told me: ‘It’s not going to work; we need to get married now’,” she recounted. “But I knew that once I started having kids, my life would start to look different.”
It wasn’t two months before the Mormon couple was already married and living in a rented apartment on the Upper West Side. A year later, they welcomed their first baby, and since then, every nine months after the birth of a child, she is pregnant again.
Her births are particularly painful because she does not use anesthesia. “I’ve never liked taking them,” she revealed. She used an epidural only once, and that was because she was two weeks overdue. “It was great,” she said with a smile.
It was Daniel’s dream to live in “the great wilds of the west” that led them to settle on the prairie. He wanted to farm, wear linen, and live off the land, just like his favorite show, Little House on the Prairie. The 1970s show is also the only thing their children can watch at home, using perhaps one of the few 21st-century devices they have access to: a computer.
The rest of the time, the eight little ones must invent new ways to entertain themselves, whether playing cards, jumping on the trampoline, or closely watching their mother do household chores. Because yes, there is no nanny, just a housekeeper who helps Hannah clean the vast home.
As if being a full-time housewife were not enough, Ballerina Farm still finds time to be an influencer and entrepreneur. She not only creates content for TikTok, as she also has 9.1 million followers on Instagram and 1.6 million subscribers on YouTube.
And although leaving dance “was hard” and she “forced herself to give up a part of herself,” she stated that she feels like “she is a feminist”. Because while the public sees her on screen cooking, baking, milking, and generally being a “traditional wife,” they overlook that she often promotes her personal brand, which sells everything from shoes, tablecloths, and pots to baking kits and cuts of meat.
She does not see herself as a victim and maintains that she has other personal hobbies. For instance, since childhood, she has participated in beauty contests and was crowned Mrs. Utah in 2021 and Mrs. America in 2023. She also dances in front of cameras and in private when possible. However, the journalist from The Times who visited her home noted that her sequined dresses currently languish in boxes in the garage, while a small barn she tried to convert into her ballet studio has ended up being used as a classroom for the children.
Exploring Future Trends in Traditional Living and Influence
The rise of the “tradwife” movement, exemplified by influencers like Hannah Neeleman of Ballerina Farm, reflects a growing interest in back-to-basics, self-sufficient lifestyles. This trend, which romanticizes 1950s and 1960s ideals of womanhood, will likely evolve as more individuals seek a balance between traditional roles and modern entrepreneurial endeavors.
As the digital landscape continues to shape society’s perceptions and lifestyles, influencers like Neeleman highlight the blending of domesticity with entrepreneurship. The fascination with traditional family values may inspire more people to share their lifestyles online, showcasing home-cooked meals, farming, and child-rearing alongside small businesses or personal branding. This duality will resonate particularly with audiences seeking authenticity in an era saturated with hyper-consumption.
Moreover, the backlash against the glamorization of perfect domestic life is expected to spark discussions around gender roles and societal expectations. Influencers may face scrutiny, prompting a shift towards more realistic portrayals of life, where struggles and imperfections are openly shared. This could lead to content that balances the charm of traditional living with the realities of modern challenges, providing a more inclusive narrative.
In the context of consumerism, as more people embrace sustainable living practices, influencers will likely pivot to promoting eco-friendly products and practices that align with traditional values. This aligns with a broader societal movement towards sustainability and ethical consumption, where followers will increasingly prioritize transparency and responsible sourcing in the brands they support.
Lastly, as the movement grows, so too might the diversification of voices within it. While the current narrative often features white, privileged perspectives, future trends may see a range of underrepresented groups sharing their own experiences related to traditional living. This inclusion can challenge the existing stereotypes and broaden the conversation around what it means to live authentically.