Green Motherhood, Tradwives, and the Psychoecological Crisis: Reclaiming the Sacred in Maternal and Planetary Care
Marisa Howenstine at Unsplash
In today’s world, two seemingly opposing narratives—green motherhood and the tradwife movement—are shaping the identities of mothers while distorting their potential for deeper connection. Green motherhood urges mothers to save the planet through relentless eco-conscious consumerism, transforming caregiving into a moral performance. Meanwhile, the tradwife movement glorifies a return to traditional domesticity, steeped in nostalgia for a time when women’s worth was measured by their submission within patriarchal family structures. Though these ideologies appear distinct, they intertwine in harmful ways, severing mothers from their own transformative journeys while perpetuating systems that exploit both care and nature.
Both green motherhood and the tradwife movement treat mothers and the natural world as passive, manageable entities. They uphold patriarchal and colonial systems that limit maternal agency, erasing the relational and sacred essence of carework. These narratives do not exist in a vacuum—they align with broader cultural and political forces, such as the environmental and gender policies of figures like Donald Trump, who actively dismantled protections for the Earth while reinforcing traditional power structures.
Through the lens of maternal ecopsychology, we can untangle these narratives and reclaim the sacred, relational act of carework. By doing so, we begin to heal not only mothers but also the interconnected web of life to which we all belong.
The Double Bind of Green Motherhood
At first glance, green motherhood offers a solution to the ecological crises of our time. It positions mothers as planetary saviors, urging them to protect the Earth through “sustainable” parenting: cloth diapers, organic snacks, toxin-free homes. Yet, behind the glossy eco-consciousness lies a heavy burden. Green motherhood asks mothers to bear the weight of planetary wellness, offering solutions that are often costly, isolating, and unsustainable.
This ideology creates a double bind. On one hand, mothers are expected to lead the charge against environmental degradation. On the other, the tools provided—marketed as “natural” or “sustainable”—reinforce consumerist systems that exacerbate the very harm they claim to address. Instead of fostering true ecological connection, green motherhood perpetuates a managerial approach to care that demands perfection while leaving mothers emotionally depleted and financially stretched.
During matrescence—the profound transition into motherhood—mothers have the potential to expand their relational and ecological consciousness. This is a time for deepening connections with self, child, community, and the more-than-human world. But green motherhood arrests this potential, redirecting maternal energy into performative practices that isolate rather than connect. The result is maternal ecodistress: guilt, burnout, and anxiety fueled by the impossible expectation to do it all, perfectly.
Tradwives and the Myth of the Perfect Past
The tradwife movement draws mothers into another kind of trap. Cloaked in language of empowerment, it glorifies a return to “traditional” roles where women are homemakers and caregivers under patriarchal authority. This ideology is steeped in Christian nationalist values, tying women’s worth to their domestic labor while promising a false sense of stability.
Like green motherhood, the tradwife movement imposes a distorted relationship with nature. It idealizes rural domesticity, portraying nature as a passive backdrop for human activity—a pristine resource to be cultivated and controlled. This vision echoes colonial myths of “untouched wilderness,” erasing the relational and reciprocal practices of Indigenous ecological traditions.
As Tressie McMillan Cottom in the New York Times recently revealed, the tradwife narrative has been weaponized to align with political agendas that prioritize control over care. It has become a tool to mobilize support for figures like Donald Trump, whose policies dismantled environmental protections while reinforcing strict gender hierarchies. In elevating a nostalgic vision of motherhood, the tradwife movement denies the diverse realities of caregiving and silences those who do not fit its mold.
The Mythical Norm and the Marginalization of Mothers
Both green motherhood and the tradwife movement are built upon what Audre Lorde described as the “mythical norm”: a narrow ideal of motherhood defined by whiteness, heterosexuality, and middle-class privilege. This norm marginalizes mothers who exist outside its boundaries, rendering their experiences invisible. Working-class, LGBTQ+, and racially diverse mothers are excluded from these narratives, their labor devalued or erased entirely.
During matrescence, when mothers are navigating profound identity shifts, these prescriptive ideals are particularly harmful. Green motherhood assumes access to financial resources and time, while the tradwife movement romanticizes a domesticity that ignores the systemic exploitation of marginalized mothers. Both frameworks exploit the identity disorientation of matrescence, offering promises of validation while deepening isolation. By excluding diverse maternal experiences, these ideologies perpetuate systems of inequality that harm not only individual mothers but also the broader web of life.
Converging Narratives: Privatized Carework and Ecological Harm
Both green motherhood and the tradwife movement shift the burden of care—whether for families or the planet—onto individual mothers. This privatization of care obscures the systemic drivers of harm: corporate exploitation, environmental destruction, and weak social support structures. By framing care as a personal responsibility, these ideologies reinforce a consumerist and patriarchal status quo.
A shared thread is their reliance on a managerial approach to care. Both treat nature and motherhood as objects to be optimized and controlled, reducing care to a performance of efficiency. This perspective diverges sharply from true ecological care, which is relational, reciprocal, and rooted in interdependence.
Reclaiming Relational Carework
The myths of green motherhood and the tradwife movement, though distinct, converge in their distortion of maternal and ecological care. They ask too much of mothers—demanding endless sacrifice while reinforcing cycles of guilt and burnout. They reduce nature and motherhood to objects of control, perpetuating systems that exploit the very essence of care. These ideologies align with broader forces that prioritize consumption and domination over the relational web of life.
But there is another way forward. When mothers reclaim care as a sacred, relational act, they unlock the transformative potential of their matrescence. To care is not to consume, nor is it to perform. True care invites reciprocity—between mother and child, human and nature, self and community. It is not about control but about connection, not about isolation but about belonging.
To embrace an eco-feminist and psychoecological path is to honor the sacred interdependence of life. It asks us to step away from individualism and into the collective, to reject the myths of perfection and instead root ourselves in practices of reciprocity, creativity, and healing.
Imagine a future where carework is shared, where mothers are nourished by the ecosystems of support they need to thrive. This is the vision of relational carework: one where mothers are not objects of expectation but agents of change, weaving themselves into the web of life with intention and grace. This is how we transform carework—from a source of exhaustion into a collective force for renewal and possibility.
Expand Your Practice with the Maternal Ecopsychology Certificate
Beginning January 6th, the Maternal Ecopsychology Certificate offers a transformative, ecofeminist approach to understanding motherhood and carework. This program is designed for therapists, educators, and healers seeking to integrate ecological consciousness, psycho-spiritual practices, and relational care into their work. Learn how to support mothers in reclaiming their agency, navigating matrescence, and fostering connections with the Earth and community.
Join us to deepen your practice and become a part of this transformative approach to maternal and ecological healing.