{"id":2318020,"date":"2024-08-02T05:44:56","date_gmt":"2024-08-02T09:44:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/media-hate-ballerina-farm-matriarch-because-shes-a-happy-mom\/"},"modified":"2024-08-02T05:56:10","modified_gmt":"2024-08-02T09:56:10","slug":"media-hate-ballerina-farm-matriarch-because-shes-a-happy-mom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/media-hate-ballerina-farm-matriarch-because-shes-a-happy-mom\/","title":{"rendered":"Media Hate Ballerina Farm Matriarch Because She\u2019s A Happy Mom"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmedia-hate-ballerina-farm-matriarch-because-shes-a-happy-mom%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2318020&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Ballerina Farm founder Hannah Neeleman recently attracted attention \u2064following a controversial feature in The \u2063Sunday Times Magazine that portrayed her as an oppressed housewife amidst her seemingly idyllic life as a mother of eight and co-manager of a Utah farm. The article, which coined her the &#8220;queen of the &#8216;trad wives,'&#8221; \u2064ignited a debate about feminism and women&#8217;s choices in modern society. The writer, Megan Agnew, critiqued \u200dthe family&#8217;s lifestyle decisions, contrasting\u200d their affluent\u2062 background with their \u2062homesteading image, raising questions about\u2064 whether Hannah&#8217;s \u2063choices \u200dwere empowering or oppressive.<\/p>\n<p>Agnew&#8217;s portrayal suggested that \u200dHannah was unwittingly sacrificing personal aspirations for a \u2064domestic role under her husband&#8217;s influence, despite Hannah&#8217;s own affirmation of her happiness and fulfillment in her current life. Following the backlash, Hannah provided a rebuttal through social media, claiming that the article misrepresented\u2064 her family&#8217;s values and choices, and highlighting the joy they find in family \u2063life, which is \u200doften\u200d dismissed by mainstream media.<\/p>\n<p>The discourse surrounding Hannah&#8217;s \u2063lifestyle\u200d reflects broader \u200dsocietal tensions regarding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/conservative-nfl-star-harrison-butker-attacked-from-the-stage-of-espns-espys-awards-show\/\" title=\"Conservative NFL Star Harrison Butker Attacked from the Stage of ESPN&#039;s &#039;ESPYS&#039; Awards Show\">traditional family roles<\/a>, women&#8217;s\u200b empowerment, and the media&#8217;s \u2063perception of \u2064such choices. Critics argue that mainstream narratives often vilify women who embrace\u2062 domestic \u2063life in favor of career-oriented \u200bideologies, an \u2062attitude that Hannah and her family openly\u2064 challenge through their values and public persona.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Ballerina Farm founder Hannah Neeleman made headlines last week after a corporate media feature piece that was supposed to document her charming life as the matriarch of a growing Mormon family and co-manager of a sprawling Utah farm implied that she is an oppressed housewife. <\/p>\n<p>The Sunday Times Magazine article in question recently dubbed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/conservative-charged-with-election-interference-for-social-media-post\/\" title=\"Conservative charged with election interference for social media post\">social media influencer<\/a> and mother of eight, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/magazines\/the-sunday-times-magazine\/article\/meet-the-queen-of-the-trad-wives-and-her-eight-children-plfr50cgk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&ldquo;the queen of the &lsquo;trad wives,&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/a> which sparked a massive online debate. The big story, however, was not whether Hannah is the perfect image for the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/01\/11\/why-gen-z-is-ditching-the-girlboss-for-the-tradwife\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">trending housewife movement<\/a>, but the vitriol corporate media have for women who choose to reject the lies sold by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-beauty-of-femininity\/\" title=\"The Beauty Of Femininity\">modern-day feminism<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Empowerment Or Oppression?<\/h2>\n<p>Questions about how the Neelemans&rsquo; millions of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meet-the-british-man-who-spent-200k-to-become-korean\/\" title=\"Meet the British Man Who Spent 0K To Become Korean\">social media followers<\/a> can reconcile the family&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@ballerina.farm5\/video\/7386311600803745066\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">five-figure cast iron stove<\/a> with their homegrown, homestead image online are certainly worth exploring. The U.S.-based senior features writer who ventured out to the Neelemans&rsquo; 328-acre property to pen a puff piece, however, was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/magazines\/the-sunday-times-magazine\/article\/meet-the-queen-of-the-trad-wives-and-her-eight-children-plfr50cgk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">far more interested in telling a different story.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Instead of concentrating her criticism on the stark contrast between the Neelemans&rsquo; wealthy Jet Blue background and seemingly down-to-earth-looking lifestyle, author Megan Agnew took aim at their marriage, family size and decision to center their lives around home and children.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Is this an empowering new model of womanhood &mdash; or a hammer blow for feminism?&rdquo; the article subhead asks. <\/p>\n<p>Shortly into the article, Agnew queried whether the 2023 Mrs. American&rsquo;s affinity for pageantry is &ldquo;the ultimate act of empowerment, Neeleman doing what she wanted, or the ultimate demonstration of oppression, her tender body encased in spiky sequins?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>She also tried to make Daniel look creepy for setting himself up with Hannah via a not-so-coincidental plane seat change he got by pulling some strings at Jet Blue. In reality, it was Agnew who openly dreamed about asking her interviewees about their form of birth control that came off out of touch and absurd.<\/p>\n<p>Agnew even had the audacity to openly disagree with Hannah when she explained she was happy to leave behind Juilliard School in New York for her husband&rsquo;s overseas job, start a family, and eventually move to the Utah countryside.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I look out at the vastness and don&rsquo;t totally agree. Daniel wanted to live in the great western wilds, so they did; he wanted to farm, so they do; he likes date nights once a week, so they go (they have a babysitter on those evenings); he didn&rsquo;t want nannies in the house, so there aren&rsquo;t any,&rdquo; Agnew complained.<\/p>\n<p>By the end of the article, readers are left with the impression that Hannah is being held hostage in a picturesque farmhouse kitchen by her husband, who has tricked her into making <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1U5N1KSl9s8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">grilled cheese sourdough sandwiches<\/a> from scratch for the rest of her life.<\/p>\n<p>Agnew&rsquo;s concluding line further suggests that Hannah was deceived into sacrificing her prima ballerina career and storage for her sequined pageant gowns at the feet of her eight children.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>Agnew&rsquo;s interview sparked a slew of corporate media articles speculating if Hannah was oppressed because she only had an epidural for one of her eight usually unmedicated births and gave up &ldquo;the only space earmarked to be Neeleman&rsquo;s own &mdash; a small barn she wanted to convert into a ballet studio&rdquo; so her kids had a designated homeschool room.<\/p>\n<p>Agnew, clearly imbued by the attention given to her original viral profile, penned a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/world\/us-world\/article\/my-day-with-the-trad-wife-queen-and-what-i-really-thought-of-her-qmbmmhkp8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">follow-up piece<\/a> acknowledging criticism that &ldquo;I, a childless, unmarried woman, didn&rsquo;t understand that this is the reality of having eight children, all home-schooled, and with no childcare.&rdquo; But her analysis that &ldquo;the trad life makes women feel threatened by one another&rsquo;s choices&rdquo; was too little, too late.<\/p>\n<h2>Living The Dream<\/h2>\n<p>In true influencer fashion, Hannah set the record straight in a voiceover of her morning routine in an Instagram clip posted this week.  <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We thought the interview went really well, very similar to the dozens of interviews we had done in recent memory,&rdquo; Hannah explained. &ldquo;We were taken back, however, when we saw the printed article, which shocked us and shocked the world by being an attack on our family and my marriage, portraying me as oppressed with my husband being the culprit.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/C-GeBacSJx2\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"><\/blockquote>\n<p>But Hannah said Agnew&rsquo;s ultimate framing &ldquo;couldn&rsquo;t be further from the truth.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Nothing we said in the interview implied this conclusion, which leads me to believe the angle taken was predetermined,&rdquo; Hannah added.<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s unsurprising that the same class of corporate media mouthpieces that mock <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/11\/04\/why-blue-checks-are-mocking-a-middle-class-familys-12-gallon-a-week-consumption-of-milk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">big families&rsquo; milk consumption<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/09\/15\/enough-with-our-horrible-media-boosting-women-who-publicly-regret-their-childrens-existence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">amplify women who regret becoming moms<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/01\/31\/corporate-media-give-all-faithful-christians-the-tony-dungy-treatment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> smear Christians<\/a>, and think voters are stupid enough to believe lies about <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/23\/how-the-media-are-lying-right-now-getting-poorer-under-bidens-economy-is-all-in-your-head\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inflation<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/29\/corporate-media-think-voters-are-dumb-enough-to-believe-bidens-border-invasion-is-quieting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">border invasion<\/a>, and other crises plaguing the nation twisted yet another story to fit its agenda.<\/p>\n<p>The press have shown time and time again that they hate happily married mothers <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/03\/01\/why-it-matters-that-im-a-mother-not-a-generic-parent-or-grown-up\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">(not chestfeeders or birthing persons, as the corporate media often likes to call them)<\/a> like Hannah because she&rsquo;s found fulfillment in ways that severely contradict the leftist ideology they espouse.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of shouting about abortion, Hannah and her husband told Agnew that they deeply value &ldquo;the sanctity of life&rdquo; and &ldquo;see the joy of having kids.&rdquo; Instead of loathing the existence of their children, they&rsquo;ve poured their life into <a href=\"https:\/\/ballerinafarm.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">building family businesses<\/a> and routines that involve and benefit their kids.<\/p>\n<blockquote data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/C9c2SgDPLnA\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"><\/blockquote>\n<p>The Neelemans aren&rsquo;t products of a creepy Stockholm syndrome setup to satisfy social media followers seeking &ldquo;trad wife&rdquo; content. They are loving spouses who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/world\/us-world\/article\/my-day-with-the-trad-wife-queen-and-what-i-really-thought-of-her-qmbmmhkp8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">oppose divorce<\/a>, including that of Daniel&rsquo;s parents, because of the pain it brings to families. <\/p>\n<p>As Hannah explained in her Instagram statement, she and Daniel are &ldquo;co-parents, co-CEOs, co-diaper changers, kitchen cleaners, and decision makers.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We are one, and I love him more today than I did 13 years ago,&rdquo; Hannah said. <\/p>\n<p>Record-breaking swaths of Americans <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/02\/poll-more-than-8-in-10-americans-dont-trust-corporate-media-to-report-facts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">have lost faith in corporate media<\/a>&nbsp;to report accurately. The Neelemans, especially because they have made a living off of leading a countercultural life, should have joined those ranks a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ben-franklins-name-scrubbed-from-tacoma-city-park\/\" title=\"Ben Franklin\u2019s Name Scrubbed From Tacoma City Park\">long time ago<\/a>. If they know what&rsquo;s best for them, they will join those ranks now.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the media&rsquo;s best efforts to demonize them, the Neelemans already appear defiant and more determined than ever to keep their focus on each other, &ldquo;God and family.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We have many dreams still to accomplish. We aren&rsquo;t done having babies. We are excited for our new farm store to open, and I can&rsquo;t wait to see what the future holds for the rest of it. But for now, I&rsquo;m doing what I love most: being a mother, wife, a businesswoman, a farmer, a lover of children,&rdquo; Hannah concluded. <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hannah Neeleman, the founder of Ballerina Farm, garnered attention last week following a corporate media article that aimed to portray her idyllic life as the head of a flourishing Mormon family and co-manager of a large Utah farm but instead suggested she is an oppressed housewife. The Sunday Times Magazine referred to her as &#8220;the queen of the &#8216;trad wives,'&#8221; igniting significant online discussion. However, the real issue was not whether Hannah epitomizes the current housewife trend but rather the disdain corporate media often show towards women who reject modern feminist narratives.<\/p>\n<p>The article raised questions about how Hannah&#8217;s many social media followers reconcile her family&#8217;s wealth with their homesteading image. Yet, writer Megan Agnew seemed more focused on critiquing their marriage, family size, and lifestyle choices centered around home and children rather than exploring these contrasts. She posed whether Hannah&#8217;s participation in pageantry represented empowerment or oppression.<\/p>\n<p>Agnew also attempted to paint Daniel as unsettling for orchestrating a chance meeting with Hannah through a flight seat change at Jet Blue while it was Agnew who appeared out of touch by wanting to discuss personal matters like birth control during interviews. When Hannah expressed contentment in leaving Juilliard for family life and moving to rural Utah, Agnew openly disagreed with her perspective.<\/p>\n<p>By concluding that Hannah is trapped in an idyllic farmhouse kitchen by her husband\u2019s expectations\u2014making grilled cheese sandwiches from scratch\u2014Agnew left readers with an impression of deception regarding Hannah\u2019s sacrifices for motherhood over pursuing her ballet career.<\/p>\n<p>Following this portrayal, numerous articles speculated on whether Hannah felt oppressed due to having only one epidural among eight births or giving up plans for a ballet studio in favor of creating a homeschool space for her children. In response to criticism about not understanding the realities faced by mothers like Hannah, Agnew acknowledged that she lacked insight into raising eight homeschooled kids without childcare but claimed that traditional lifestyles create competition among women regarding their choices.<\/p>\n<p>In true influencer style, Hannah addressed these misconceptions through an Instagram video detailing her morning routine. She expressed surprise at how negatively portrayed they were in print despite feeling positive about their interview experience. She asserted that nothing discussed implied such conclusions and believed there was bias behind how it was framed.<\/p>\n<p>Hannah criticized corporate media figures who belittle large families while promoting narratives against motherhood and traditional values because they contradict leftist ideologies. Instead of focusing on issues like abortion during interviews, she emphasized valuing &#8220;the sanctity of life&#8221; and finding joy in parenting alongside building businesses benefiting their children.<\/p>\n<p>The Neelemans are not victims caught in some manipulative setup; they are devoted partners opposing divorce due to its impact on families. As co-parents sharing responsibilities equally within their household dynamic\u2014caring for each other deeply\u2014they remain committed despite negative press coverage aimed at undermining them.<\/p>\n<p>With growing distrust toward corporate media reporting accuracy among Americans today\u2014and given their countercultural lifestyle\u2014the Neelemans should recognize this reality now more than ever while remaining steadfastly focused on faith and family amidst attempts at vilification from outside sources<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":490,"featured_media":2318021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-01-at-10.34.43%E2%80%AFAM-e1722527071760-1024x576.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[6823,9303,36984,4188,7355],"class_list":["post-2318020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-ballerina","tag-happiness","tag-matriarch","tag-media","tag-motherhood"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-01-at-10.34.43%E2%80%AFAM-e1722527071760-1024x576.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2318020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/490"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2318020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2318020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2318021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2318020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2318020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2318020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}