Culture

Would Nara Smith Get The Same Hate If She Was A White Mormon?

by Ky Stewart  24 January 2024
nara smith lucky blue smith mormon controversy explained

Want more Junkee in your life? Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook so you always know where to find us.

Cooking for your family and filming it seems innocent enough, but what happens when half the internet accuses you of creating Mormon propaganda? Influencer Nara Smith is currently finding out. 

For the chronically online among us, the name Nara Smith likely means something to you by now. The stay-at-home mumfluencer has been the centre of major drama, with people have calling out her posts for promoting tradwife tendencies, religious propaganda and ‘submitting yourself’ to your husband and children. But what’s actually at play here? Let’s dive deep into the Mormon, tradwife TikTok rabbit hole together, shall we? 

Who Is Influencer Nara Smith? 

Nara Smith is a TikTok influencer and model who married the Tumblr-famous model Lucky Blue Smith back in 2020. At just 22, Nara has amassed a giant following on TikTok where she mostly posts aesthetically pleasing cooking videos or videos of her taking care of her two children. The videos are very aligned with the new tradwife trend of rich stay-at-home mums who seem to spend all their time cooking for their husbands and looking after their kids. Both Nara and Lucky are also both Mormons, which will be more relevant as we go deeper.

Obviously, there’s nothing inherently wrong with being a stay-at-home mum. Many women choose to not work and look after their kids — and some of those people really loved Nara’s content. Videos showing Nara cooking meals and making snacks for her husband were really popular. 

I think a large part of the appeal of Nara and Lucky is they appear to have the ‘perfect’ life. Being rich, successful influencers with children under the age of 25 these days seems like a distant dream. I have next to nothing in common with this woman, but watching a few of her videos, I found myself thinking some of her videos were sweet. It was cute to see someone’s genuine love for someone else. She’s said multiple times that she loves cooking for those she loves and it shows; those meals looks incredible.

At the same time, I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with the tradwife religious core vibes from her videos. It made me concerned that a lot of people were looking at this lifestyle as the ultimate goal; giving straight men a pass to ask their wives or girlfriends to behave like Nara. However, none of that is Nara’s fault.

What Is Mormon Core And What Is A Trad Wife? 

Mormon core isn’t so much of a trend as a lifestyle, which people on TikTok either participate in or call out. It’s kinda like cottagecore and coquette core, but throw a rather oppressive religion into the mix. If you find yourself orbiting Mormon core online, you’ll see women wearing long skirts, minimal makeup, promoting Jesus and the Church, and giving very Utah conservative rich family vibes. 

The Mormon Church has been the centre of controversy for many years. Both outsiders and former Mormons have called out the Church for promoting strict gender roles, the suppression of women, homophobia, and racism. Heather Gay, icon of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, has spoken up about the Mormon Church after she left, particularly how sexist it was against women. She even wrote a book about her experiences called Bad Mormon. 

A lot of the Mormon mum influencers promote a traditional way of living, where the women stay at home, cook, clean, and take care of the children while obeying the teachings of the Church. “Mummy bloggers” in particular are massive in Utah — where the Mormon Church was founded — and videos like the ones below show just how competitive it can become for women in the community looking to be the best wife and mother.

While not all of these women posting about their traditional values are necessarily religious, the tradwife culture on TikTok feels close to the content many Mormon influencers share. 

I’m still convinced this one is satire.

To me, the rise in the tradwife lifestyle seems to be a symptom of the overconsumption and hyperactive lifestyle that late-stage capitalism has pushed us into. In times of uncertainty, people want to feel connected to something or have security. For many, that means slipping into traditional ways of thinking, binary gender roles and leaning further into religion. Some hate it and some love it; that’s why Nara Smith has become such a polarising figure on TikTok. 

Why Are People Angry At Nara Smith?

Nara’s content definitely sits somewhere within the tradwife and Mormon influencer axis. Cooking for the husband, getting up early to make fresh food for your children, and being the perfect wife in the perfect house. If you’re into that kind of thing, she does it well. 

The tides started to turn against Nara and Lucky as people found out that they are both Mormons. Although Nara doesn’t talk much about her faith beyond doing “daily scriptures”, Lucky is a devout follower of the Church and posts about his experiences with Jesus, God and his faith. Only after that did people start to see Nara’s content as Mormon propaganda. 

Audiences became uncomfortable with the fact that Nara is a woman of colour and Mormon given how oppressive the Church has been towards Black people. Policing any woman of colour for what religion they choose to practice is gross to me. Where I take issue is when influencers promote their religion to the masses, and use the guise of their religion to share homophobic or racist views. Nara has done neither of those things, nor has she promoted the need to be a stay-at-home mother.

Still, there’s a level of responsibility as an influencer to what you are marketing out to your audience. Her content implicitly sends a message of living your life around, or even solely for, your husband and children — but that’s just her life.  

So why are people so mad at her? Some say jealousy, others say racism. 

I do wonder if Nara would be getting the same backlash if she was white. As one TikTok user pointed out, I haven’t seen people go after actual Mormon promoters on the app as much as they have Nara. 

I’ve thought on this a lot, and here’s where I’ve landed: if people want to love Nara’s content, then let them. Until she starts espousing hatred and the teachings of the Church, there’s no reason to come after her. Is some of her content a bit cringe? Yes, but there are far more dangerous people on TikTok than her.

Ky is a proud Kamilaroi and Dharug person and writer at Junkee. Follow them on Instagram or on X.

Image: Instagram