Tradwives, 'femcels' and dating strategists: Meet the women rejecting feminism.

A quick glance at Kanika Batra's Instagram profile and you'll probably think you've stumbled across a pretty typical modern-day influencer. The former pageant girl, model and author is undoubtedly glamorous, and you'll find plenty of photos and videos to prove it.

But, there's more to Kanika's content than bikini-clad selfies. The self-described narcissist uses her platform of more than 270,000 followers to push an agenda she's passionate about – the rejection of modern feminism. 

Growing up in a conservative, nuclear family in the eastern and southern suburbs of Sydney, Kanika witnessed domestic violence often. Despite being a high achiever academically, she was often in trouble – that's when she wasn't reading or writing. 

Listen to The Quicky discuss the femosphere. Post continues below.

A child model at 10 years old, Kanika identified as a feminist even then, idolising women like Gloria Steinem, Andrea Dworkin, Germaine Greer and Janice Raymond. As a teenager, she rebelled against her mother's push for her to learn to cook "because she was a girl".

"I was highly manipulative, competitive and vindictive and that led to my diagnosis of conduct disorder," says Kanika.

"I never felt that I could relate to others and found it bizarre when they would cry or have emotional outbursts about things that I wouldn't think twice about, and guilt was something that had no part in my life."

At 23, Katina became involved in an abusive relationship with a man 20 years older than her. After being raped, she experienced an ectopic pregnancy that ruptured, landing her in hospital.

Given her experiences, you might think Kanika's feminism grew stronger over the years. On the contrary, Kanika believes modern feminism has failed women.

"I believe that the sexual revolution did far more harm than good to us, and the true beneficiaries were and still are men, especially with the advent of hook-up culture," she says.

"It is not empowering to give men exactly what they want: casual sex without investment or effort on their part."

Femosphere influencer, Kanika Batra. Image: Instagram/@kanikabatra

Feminism, says Kanika, is oversimplified in that it signifies equality of the sexes without specifying how or in which way.

"This allows anti-feminists to skirt the real issues by asking women to prove how they're treated differently due to their biological sex.

"Women in my mother's generation were given the liberty to enter the workforce and obtain bank accounts, but they were still expected to work full time outside the home and still complete all the labour within the home, too. This was a catastrophic failure."

Having it all meant being forced to do it all, says Kanika, but the influencer doesn't believe current generations are experiencing this in the same way.

"I do not believe we are being oppressed in the traditional manner of not legally accessing the same facilities and jobs, but by the poisoned concept of feminism itself."

Watch: Australian Of The Year Noelle Martin discusses deep fake pornography. Article continues after video.

Welcome to the femosphere.

Kanika is part of a growing subculture known as the femosphere.

Like the manosphere, the femosphere comes from a position of opposition towards the opposite gender. While the latter is less overtly aggressive than the former, it isn't feminism either – at least, not as we know it (because many do describe themselves as such). 

The movement itself is a backlash against modern feminism, according to Loughborough University's Dr Jilly Kay, who coined the term, and says most women within the space – like men within the manosphere, believe men and women are fundamentally different, and that a successful life comes down to the survival of the fittest. In other words, developing strategies to conquer the opposite gender. 

Kay identifies three main typologies within the femosphere — femcels (women who withhold sex), female dating strategists (those who encourage women to find men to financially support them), and tradwives (women who cook and clean at home while their husbands work) — the latter having surged in popularity in recent times. 

"Think of the other side of the coin of the tradwife image — the trope of the 'unf***able' cat lady/sad girlboss, who is financially successful but childless and resentful," says author and feminist, Dr Sophie Lewis. 

"That supposedly frustrated figure is just as central to the tradwife cult as is the figure in high heels and an apron," she says. 

The promise of the tradlife, says Sophie, is seductive to women who hate the endless grind, the hyper-exploitation, of what has been dubbed the "work society." 

"The subculture appears to be confronting something that liberal feminism is incapable of providing solutions to: the 'hard truth' that, as a woman under capitalism, your choices are essentially limited to eschewing human companions/intimacy/parenthood/love altogether, or becoming at least something of a tradwife."

"In many ways, speaking as a revolutionary left-radical feminist, I think of tradwives as a response to the sheer inadequacy of liberal feminism."

Femosphere influencer @thewizardliz. Image: Instagram'@thewizardliz

Influencer, @thewizardliz, leans into this notion, frequently creating videos that teach viewers how to manipulate men — mostly to achieve wealth — through seduction techniques and their appearance. With titles such as  "How to become more beautiful", "How to become rich", and "How to become extremely seductive", @thewizardliz is all about achieving the "princess treatment". 

Kanika, on the other hand, opposes 'princess treatment' and doesn't believe women should rely on men for money, but does believe women need to know how to manipulate men. 

"My goal for my female audience is to spot deception while also learning to utilise it," she says. 

"This is controversial, but I believe men are inherently Machiavellian while they're dating, but women are naïve and gullible. The man's goal is to get to intimacy with as little thought to the desires and needs of the woman, while a woman will chase the carrot of commitment being dangled in front of her. 

"I've been at the mercy of psychopathic men and many men have been at my mercy and I would pick the latter every single day of the week, and I encourage other women to do the same."

Kanika believes modern feminism has also pushed men into a place where they feel unappreciated, so they latch onto podcasts that denigrate and humiliate women in order to feel a sense of revenge and power. 

"This has a ripple effect so strong that women who have never previously uttered or understood the word 'submissive' are suddenly talking about how they would like to submit to a man and allow him to lead, despite the reality of these relationships being dangerously toxic and abusive. 

"Relying on a male for monetary stability and 'princess treatment' will always be a severe risk, especially as these men are older and know how to use that money and "leadership" to train women into subservience, with their only other option being poverty if they are also not from wealthy homes themselves."

"The result will again be violence towards women."

While most corners of the femosphere describe themselves as feminist, many are staunch conservatives, with philosophies steeped in anti-gender equality sentiments. 

Kanika, for example, believes postmodern feminism is contributing to the erasure of the rights and safety of biological women. 

"Women are subject to acid attacks, being burnt on stoves and being buried alive for birthing girls, not paying dowries, or shaming a family's honour. Unfortunately, these girls and women cannot identify their way out of oppression by claiming they're actually male or nonbinary. 

"I think it is dangerous to suggest that women and men are physically equal, as most men, on average, are larger, faster and stronger than women. While intellectually we are equal, female athletes are suffering because of this notion of physical equality."

Kanika says she's been targeted for her conservative views, including being thrown out of the women's collective at her university, "despite being pro-choice". 

According to Director of Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research Professor Adele Pavlidis, the femosphere is using similar tactics used by the manosphere to their advantage. 

"Like those in the manosphere, they're espousing shocking ideas to get people's attention." says Adele. 

"They will prey on people's vulnerabilities, particularly around insecurities around romance and finance. Everyone experiences heartbreak and loneliness, and we know the cost of living is a serious issue for a lot of people."

But Adele says the tactics used by those in the femosphere is not the answer to the failures of modern feminism. 

"The first thing that is important to say is that there are multiple feminisms, not just one feminism. 

"Feminism in the contemporary sense, and what a lot of us researchers are engaged with, is not liberal feminism."

Liberal feminism, says Adele, is essentially economic feminism. 

"So, we need more women in leadership positions. Now that is a good thing, more women should be able to have the opportunity to be in leadership. But it's not just about being a woman…liberal feminism reduces the problem to numbers.

"When we talk about feminist theory in the contemporary age, we're thinking in more complex ways about power, gendered power relations, history, how women may have been treated as secondary citizens, and emotions. It's a lot more nuanced. 

"Trans women, non-binary people, gay men, Indigenous women, people who don't speak English are all part of what feminism is today, as opposed to this liberal feminism which is often called 'white feminism', and is often about advancing white middle class women's empowerment. 

"Which is interesting because a lot of these women in the femosphere are white women, middle class or aspirational – wanting to find a man who will look after them, but there are people who are working several jobs to provide for their families. It's not a realistic strategy."

Jasmine Dinis is an Australian 'tradwife'. Image: Instagram/@jasminedinis

It's also dangerous. 

"One of the big points of women's economic independence is around being able to be safe from violence. 

"People say it was better in the old days when women stayed home and men went to work – I get tired too, I'm a professor and a mother, and it's exhausting – but I want to always know that I am safe. 

"I have a husband who isn't violent, but many other women are not in that privileged position, and if they need to leave their spouse they will be in poverty."

Unlike the manosphere, says Adele, the femosphere isn't out there getting women angry at men in the same way. 

"So we've seen with the manopshere there's been a lot of violence and murder as a result, and I think the femosphere is different in that the result will again be violence towards women. So both movements will end up being risky to women."

"I'm quite proud of my kink-shaming."

While Kanika also rejects the idea that women should be financially dependent on men, she also rejects modern feminism at large. 

"I left feminism behind because it was no longer representative of what I believed it to be. 

"I'm strongly against pornography and the sexual exploitation of women, and I'm tired of being silenced by feminists when I speak about it or bring up legitimate concerns about safety when it comes to expecting women to accept degradation during intimacy – I'm quite proud of my kink-shaming when it comes to physical blows that could lead to death, and I don't intend to shut up any time soon about the dangers of 'breath play'. 

This position is interesting, given many modern feminists are vehemently against mainstream pornography, particularly content that glamourises violence against women, as well as non-fatal strangulation, colloquially known as "choking", which has been proven to be dangerous. 

"Feminism is not targeting the real problems in society, and often it encourages delusions so that women do not work on themselves to improve in any spaces they are weak in, or as it's commonly known: yasslighting. 

"I also hate the normalisation of women proposing to men, women courting men and giving access sexually for minimal effort, because it affects the rest of us, too. 

"If I were to place myself into a wave of feminism that I felt represented me, it would be the second wave, minus the aggressive push towards promiscuity."

While Adele concedes feminism in the contemporary sense is not very palatable in terms of a sound bite, she says understanding what it really means requires time and active engagement. 

"It does take some patience to be open to the complexities of it," says Adele. 

"The challenge is being able to better articulate it, and having more opportunities for these kinds of conversations. 

"It is a transformative thing and men can be involved as well, and that's really important, men's involvement and education about feminism. 

"It's not going to feel good, but let's try and ride through that discomfort, because what is on the other side is worth it."

Feature image: Supplied.