Fibercrafts and fascism: Unpicking the role of women in white heritage production and far-right politicization in Aotearoa New Zealand

The link between online “tradwives” and far-right politics is well established, but there is little material exploring the overlap between online crafting spaces and far-right political activity. This article engages with the rise of a new reactionary organization in New Zealand between 2020 and 2023 (Voices for Freedom) and the online crafting world through reactionary “craftivist spaces” (Blocked Magazine), exploring links between craft spaces, tradwife influencers, and political organizing for far-right projects. We argue that the sanitization of white supremacist values and violent settler histories through the production of white women's roles and norms creates space for the activation of far-right political organizing within ostensibly apolitical spaces.

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Publication Details

Journal
Human Geography
Published
2026-08-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/19427786261474123
Primary Topic
Crafts, Textile, and Design
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Fibercrafts and fascism: Unpicking the role of women in white heritage production and far-right politicization in Aotearoa New Zealand

Callie Vandewiele, Max Soar
Human Geography
Crafts, Textile, and Design
article

Fibercrafts and fascism: Unpicking the role of women in white heritage production and far-right politicization in Aotearoa New Zealand

Callie Vandewiele, Max Soar
article en

Abstract

The link between online “tradwives” and far-right politics is well established, but there is little material exploring the overlap between online crafting spaces and far-right political activity. This article engages with the rise of a new reactionary organization in New Zealand between 2020 and 2023 (Voices for Freedom) and the online crafting world through reactionary “craftivist spaces” (Blocked Magazine), exploring links between craft spaces, tradwife influencers, and political organizing for far-right projects. We argue that the sanitization of white supremacist values and violent settler histories through the production of white women's roles and norms creates space for the activation of far-right political organizing within ostensibly apolitical spaces.

Human Geography
University of Auckland (NZ), Victoria University of Wellington (NZ)
Gender equality
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Crafts, Textile, and Design
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