Keywords
CONSERVATISM; BAKING; SOURDOUGH; EXTREMISM; TRADWIFE; SOCIAL MEDIA
Abstract
Baking has become increasingly popular in the last five years, particularly baking sourdough bread. This is evident through the rise of social media influencers focusing on trad-wife, family, and sourdough content. Trad wife is the term used to describe a a woman who lives a lifestyle that endorses gender roles, child-rearing, and taking care of the family. There is significant crossover between American social conservative ideals and a trad-wife. The emblem for a tradwife has become baking sourdough since the coronavirus pandemic. Previous research has linked the correlation between American social conservatism and the increasingly popular trad-wife phenomenon. Existing literature has also been research linking the correlation between trad-wives and sourdough. This quantitative study uses a self-administered, closed-ended survey which collected data from 144 participants aged 18+ and identified as American. Participants were recruited via social media and convenience sampling. The survey questions addressed topics such as homesteading, baking, political beliefs, and awareness of influencers. The results found a potential connection between identifying as a conservative baker and being open to extremist ideals. The conclusion is that social media most likely plays a significant role in the reasoning behind conservative bakers potentially being more open to political extremist behavior.
Thesis Completion Year
2025
Thesis Completion Semester
Fall
Thesis Chair
Larsen, Kelsey
College
College of Sciences
Department
School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs
Thesis Discipline
Political Science
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Length of Campus Access
None
Campus Location
Orlando (Main) Campus
STARS Citation
McRae, Sydney M., "The Yeasty Rise of Conservatism by Fermenting Sourdough" (2025). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 446.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hut2024/446
Rights Statement
