A cat surprised by a toaster. The evolution of Brad Pitt over the years. Cutting advice. “Feminism is a cancer, that’s why.” In the incessant zapping offered by the TikTok application, the video calls out. In the image, nothing but very ordinary: a young influencer with a neat appearance, impeccable staging. But the point is out of place in the post-#metoo era. She is French, calls herself Thaïs d’Escufon and has nearly 100,000 subscribers on TikTok, twice as many on YouTube.
Her videos are all of the same ilk: she declares that modern women are “irresponsible”that female infidelity is ” worse “ than that of men, incriminates the pill and estimates, in a video viewed more than a million times, “that men and women are not equal, never will be, and that it is not desirable that they be”. Content mainly aimed at young men, presented as victims of feminism, to whom it provides advice on becoming “real men” And “attract (and keep) a high-value woman”.
Thaïs d’Escufon is not the only influencer to surf on anti-feminism. The recipe has already proven itself elsewhere, notably in the United States. Hannah Pearl Davis, for example, with two million subscribers on YouTube, is one of the most famous female faces of the movement “red pill”. This masculinist current, with a name inspired by the red pill of the films Matrix – which allows us to see the real world – considers that feminism threatens society. In a video viewed more than a million times, she says women should not have the right to vote.
The fashion of “tradwives”
But antifeminism takes different forms among influencers. It is not always so explicit, and is also aimed at women. Another movement is thus getting a lot of attention: that of “tradwives”, who claim a traditional way of life. Estee Williams is one of the most emblematic. The American presents herself on social networks with a 1950s style, recounts her life as a housewife and gives cooking and beauty advice to her subscribers. She explains to them how “attract masculine men who will be able to provide for their families”and argues that “putting her husband’s needs before her own is the duty of a good wife”. Others tradwives use a more modern aesthetic, like Mrs Midwest who, between two videos about her life as a mother, calls for “reject feminist messages”.
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