#momfluence

[heedra]

the overlap between neopets naming and mormon baby naming is shockingly large

[baddingtonbitch]

man with 1000 kids waiting until the last episode to be like can you believe that he's also....a nazi???

yes. of course i can. i've been waiting for that shoe to drop since minute one like no shit who else would do that

[windslar]

[deanmarywinchester]

ive spent the last 24 hours in a haze of reading momfluenced and scrolling through the instagrams of all the momfluencers the book mentions and ohhhh my god I have to delete instagram and fling my phone in the river when I’m a parent. you know how being a communist with a weird gender lets you see through the matrix of social constructs sometimes? these ladies are patching the matrix back up with cute gingham as fast as I can tear it down

[annalisearabella]

The kiddo wants a Minecraft themed party which is totally fine but what's not fine are these fucking mom influencers trying to charge actual money for what amounts to 20 minutes of layering in Photoshop or whatever and a typo on top of that.

[hdmiports]

“‘vi 💜’ shared a new post: ‘my boys 💞’”

[fair-lead]

this is a really interesting article on waco texas, specifically about the history of the town & the ramifications of the magnolia brand's sudden boom

[odysseyofemily]

Finished Momfluenced: Inside the Maddening, Picture-Perfect World of Mommy Influence Culture by Sara Petersen last night. To be honest, this book was VERY boring. It's exactly what you'd expect it would be – about how the momfluencers you see on Instagram are selling a fake story. They may seem perfect on the outside with their long billowy dress, perfectly-curled hair, clean countertops, and happy smiley children in all of their posts, but really all the majority of momfluencers are doing are perpetuating the unrealistic notion that mothers be perfect (and always happy and beautiful!) homemakers that work inside the home and that nothing is ever complicated or messy or hard. This book did point out an interesting idea that most of momfluencer culture just highlights those of privilege – white, straight, wealthy women. It doesn't take into account mom life in those with disabilities, those who aren't straight, those who are women of color, those who have to work multiple jobs and live in crappy housing, yada yada. And yet, even realizing this, it's still so easy to get sucked in to momfluencer culture and follow what they sell – not just the products that some are promoting, but the actual image and life they are seemingly living. It's so perfect, and sometimes it's just nice to escape the difficulties and nuances of one's own motherhood to embrace something that looks beautiful and easy, which the book discusses. So, there were certainly some relatable points made in this book, but honestly most of it was to be expected and there wasn't much insight beyond what most of us already probably know. All in all, it was pretty boring and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. But if ya'll want an easy book, then here you go.

[queen-of-weird-girlboy-nation]

Rip tayrn u would have loved aesthetic tiktok

[grunge-mermaid]

I tried checking out the socials of that store I went to this afternoon and didn't make it through any tiktok or reel in its entirety because the Fundie Baby Voice was too much

[hungryhungryhypocritttte]

Unkind rant:

Social media is so weird these days. Watching all these 30+ moms lip sync and dance around and show off their outfits is fucking cringy.

We get it, you want attention. Very few people care about your outfit or your favorite song.

I’m not even talking about momfluencers, really. It’s people I know irl who are larping as influencers and have like 200 followers. Who are they kidding?

Don’t use your kids for attention, don’t pretend to be a teenager, don’t act like everyone wants to be you. We don’t.

Jfc scrolling through TikTok and insta on mute really highlights how stupid these people look.

[cletusthurstonbeauregard]

[deanmarywinchester]

does anyone want a free month of the partially-free substack Culture Study? I have a few to give away, I guess it’s a promotion. it can be kind of unserious about some topics (the landing page of it makes me cringe at the moment I wish she’d put better articles there) but the writer is always doing/platforming interesting work about community-building, centering friendship in your life, and making the world better for parents and young kids, which have been of interest to me lately. and her interviews of smart but not-famous writers are really fabulous. I like her interview style and that’s how I’ve found some great reading (here’s a couple I like recently)

[femalevoice]

Momfluencers

“Momfluencers” are an up-and-coming sector of social media influencers. The rise of social media has caused a shift in topics that usually remain private, to now being public. In the past, mothers have seemingly tried to keep their children’s faces and embarrassing moments off the internet. Recently there has been a rise in the “momfluencer.” This term refers to mothers who post their daily lives as moms as well as their kid’s and partner’s daily lives. Whether this be a post to Facebook or a Tik Tok with her kids, momfluencers are taking over the social media landscape. They post content such as activity ideas for the kids, recipes, and classic mom rants. It’s important to note that there is a danger that comes with being a momfluencer. There are countless child predators on the internet. When a mom posts pictures and videos of her child and gives away details about their lives and whereabouts, she’s putting her child’s life in danger simply for likes and reposts. Most momfluencers seem to be completely oblivious of this dangerous aspect of their actions. Although this content is all in good fun, some of these momfluencers need to take a step back and look at the grand scheme of their social media presence. On top of all of this, the children being posted on social media by their mothers are too young to stand up for themselves and say that they don’t want to be on social media. Some of them are too young to even fully understand what social media is. They have no choice but to constantly be posted by their mothers. When they grow older and can understand what they’ve been through, they may resent their mother for her actions. One momfluencer who has received exceptional backlash, and punishment from the law, is Ruby Franke. Utah native Ruby ran a popular Youtube channel called 8 Passengers. She documented her life with her husband Kevin and their six kids. The videos expose her abusive words and actions towards her kids. This sort of behavior went on a while before the law got involved. However, the world of social media noticed her abuse straight away. Something Ruby masked as “strict parenting” was genuine child abuse, and people online didn’t shy away from calling her out on it. 

“Ruby Franke, Utah YouTuber, Arrested on Abuse Charges after Malnourished Child in Duct Tape Found.” NBCNews.Com, NBCUniversal News Group, 31 Aug. 2023, www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ruby-franke-vlogger-8-passengers-youtube-channel-arrested-child-abuse-rcna102731. 

Wegener, Claudia, et al. “Motherhood in social media: Phenomena and consequences of the professionalization of mothers and their Media (self-)representation.” Feminist Media Studies, vol. 23, no. 7, 2022, pp. 3222–3238, https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2022.2108479.

[angelwithwings23]

pastel earthtone crunchy momfluencers are a stone's throw from literal ethnonationalism, and it'd be hilarious if not for the whole being a stone's throw from literal ethnonationalism

[johncenagirldick]

‘have we come too far’ i say as i open the fuckjerry meme my mother sent me on ig