If you’re even a little bit online, you’ve probably come across Nara Smith and her cooking videos in some form or the other. Food and Drink Editor Safreen AC discusses.
The 23-year old influencer and model began going viral on Tiktok sometime between the end of 2023 and early 2024 for her elaborate cooking videos, where she prepares anything from Coca Cola to Cinnamon Toast Crunch and even Sunscreen “from-scratch.” Her short videos usually feature her dressed in designer clothes, a full face of makeup and are accompanied by an ASMR-esque sultry and whispered voiceover. Her videos follow a standard format: she starts by talking about some food her husband or toddlers want, like cereal or grilled cheese and then apparently proceeds to make every element, from sugar syrup to cheese, from first principles.
her content loosely falls into the tradwife aesthetic, an online subculture focused on a return to traditional gender roles and relationships, and underpinned by conservative ideologies.
Nara is married to model Lucky Blue Smith, and since their marriage in 2020, the couple have had three-children and also share custody of Lucky Smith’s daughter from a previous relationship. From her videos, she paints a picture of life that is slow, serene, and connected to home and family, and many online refer to her social media presence as “effortless”. Arguably, there is nothing effortless about Smith’s content. If anything, her whole brand is built on effort - the complex recipes, the perfect dresses, coiffed hair, and makeup, the perfectly shot, lit, and edited videos—her content is deeply curated and defined by the work she puts in to appear visually pleasing and soothing. The audience sees a beautiful and spotless home and an impeccably dressed woman who is raising four kids, but is still entirely ‘put together’. Unlike more ‘organic’ cooking content online, Nara Smith never has to stop to brush flour off of her dress, or scrape the edges of a bowl to get something that’s gotten stuck or burnt in the process.
Although she has never explicitly claimed to be one, her content loosely falls into the tradwife aesthetic, an online subculture focused on a return to traditional gender roles and relationships, and underpinned by conservative ideologies. Smith’s husband Lucky is also a Mormon, raised in the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS). While Smith herself has not confirmed her religious affiliation or relationship with the LDS, there is a documented history of women in the church being involved in promoting their values to a more secular audience. This subset of Mormon influencers usually do not make their religion an overt part of their brand, but those belonging to LDS have spoken about receiving emails from the church asking to promote events or post sponsored content. Much has been written about the tradwife movement and the Mormon church, but conversations about Nara Smith have taken a slightly different tone.
This has been followed up with the backlash to the backlash, “Let people enjoy things,” “She doesn’t make political content, why do we need to read into it”, and my personal favourite, “Is it not anti-feminist to criticise a woman’s choice to be a tradwife?”
The audience for Nara Smith’s videos is split. Much like any other figure who blows up online, there are the people who hate-watch and the people who seem to genuinely get enjoyment out of her videos. Her online presence has gone through the classic discourse cycles on X, formerly known as Twitter. The initial backlash, “She’s a tradwife,” or “She’s a rich influencer and probably has nannies and hired help,” “Why would anyone watch this?” and so on. This has been followed up with the backlash to the backlash, “Let people enjoy things,” “She doesn’t make political content, why do we need to read into it”, and my personal favourite, “Is it not anti-feminist to criticise a woman’s choice to be a tradwife?” Either way, her videos get tens of millions of views across multiple platforms, and she’s made sponsored content for major brands like Marc Jacobs, who embraced her “from-scratch” content and shared a video where she makes a “delicious red Marc Jacobs tote bag.”
I would not go so far as to say that they are self-aware feminist critiques of Mormon or tradwife values.
Nara Smith whips up a delicious Marc Jacobs tote bag. Marc Jacobs/Tiktok
While her current content is heavily produced, her older videos have a slightly different aesthetic, she speaks in her normal voice, wears a trendy but not too elaborate outfit, and the song of the month is usually playing in the background. Her cooking videos also featured more conventional recipes like stir fry, salads, baked chicken and other similar meals. In interviews and videos, Smith has spoken about how her autoimmune conditions are what led her to adjust her diet and start cooking her own meals. While this may be true, the videos where she makes everything from moisturizer, to bubblegum, Takis, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, and Oreos (among other things) from scratch only became standard-fare after her initial virality. Some people have suggested that this, alongside the level of curation in Nara Smith’s content, indicate that she’s poking fun at the tradwife trend. While I agree that she’s definitely playing into the joke with her videos - she is an influencer, she knows what she’s doing, and does it well - I would not go so far as to say that they are self-aware feminist critiques of Mormon or tradwife values. Rather, what Smith’s content does is create a veneer over whatever ideological beliefs she does have.
Satire and jokes can be used to unveil or draw attention to politics and ideology, but at the same time, it can also function as a way to obscure and create an artificial distance from political discourse altogether.
Her content does not share the earnestness or open discussion of traditional gender roles or conservative values associated with those more firmly embedded within the tradwife sphere. Following the recent US election, fans came across Lucky Smith’s username in the likes of Donald Trump’s instagram posts, and some seemed genuinely surprised by the possibility that the couple actually did have conservative politics. While it could be argued that some of these people may just have been uninformed, there is something to be said about the obvious absence of religious or political affiliation from Smith’s social media pages. The Marc Jacobs collaboration, if anything, confirms that she’s in on the joke, and is intentionally playing-up stereotypes about the Mormon housewife lifestyle. Given the number of Mormon (and other) influencers who earnestly make videos about their avoidance of readymade ingredients and “chemical filled products,” it’s not surprising that Smith’s content isn’t always read as satire. Satire and jokes can be used to unveil or draw attention to politics and ideology, but at the same time, it can also function as a way to obscure and create an artificial distance from political discourse altogether. I would argue that in Smith’s case, it does the latter quite effectively, and makes it harder for the audience to gauge her actual views.
It is not unlikely that Smith doesn’t actually live her life the way it's represented in her videos. She is selling a lifestyle, and whether or not it's affiliated with any ideology or organisation, that is what every influencer does at the end of the day. Unlike other creators that make similar content, she appears to be leaning into the discourse to her own benefit, and it clearly works.
A significant part of her audience certainly sees her life as aspirational, and others keep watching her because her content can be calming and relaxing. Her ability to attract these different kinds of viewers is in part possible because of the distance she maintains from expressing any real opinions. There’s nothing morally wrong about wanting to watch Nara Smith or any other influencer’s videos; everyone has their ways of distracting themselves from the barrage of information the internet subjects us to on a daily basis. At the same time, uncritical consumption of anything is rarely a good idea. Nara Smith may be in on the joke, but the audience is not privy to the intentions behind it.