HBM’s recent horrific experience and post about whether or not she’s “pimping out” her child on her blog has made a lot of us in the realm of mommy blogging stop and think (and get more than a little pissed, if you want the truth). A lot of us in our little tight-knit community are classified as “mommy bloggers” but when you stop and think… what does that mean, exactly? And, more importantly, what does society and the average Joe Person think that means?
To me, it’s simple. At least where myself is concerned. Like HBM, I consider my blog to be about me, my journey as a parent, who I am and how being a mother affects my life. Yes, sometimes I talk about my pregnancies, the my children and the minutiae of our lives in that regard. And yes, I often post pictures for us all to ooh and aah over. But I would hardly consider those sorts of posts to be the focus of my blog. My blog is first and foremost about me. It is about my family second. And that isn’t to be confused with my priorities because as all mother’s can atest, our families come FIRST (Every. Time.) and we come (in most cases) dead last.
But what does “society” (and by this I mean your Average Joe and/or the media) think a mommy blogger is? Do they expect us to be sunshine, rainbows and dandelions day in and day out? Do they think all we do is talk about our children’s daily input and output and post pictures and profess the joys of motherhood to anyone who will listen? Who the HECK would want to read THAT? So maybe, just maybe, when Joe Blow reads a news article like that, they stop and think, “Hey, that’s not what *I THINK* a mommy blogger talks about! Or what they even SHOULD talk about! I’m going to spout some heinous vitriol in the comments to let the world know my superior displeasure with these so called “mommies”!” Which, let’s be honest, the newspaper wanted Joe Blow to think when he read that article. Why would the media want that? Because they love to sell papers and in order to sell papers they need to appeal to the lowest common denominator. They need to stir the pot and create a controversy. And a headline that “hints” that bloggers exploit their children on their blogs wants nothing more than to create a controversy. Do not be fooled.
I don’t know about you all, but I don’t want Joe Person or ESPECIALLY the media to decide who I am and what I blog out. I will not be told that what I do is “exploitive” (I think in order for that to happen I’d have to actually make MONEY doing this, right?). I will not be made to feel bad for doing something that has been such a positive influence in my and my family’s life. I don’t want any other mommy blogger to feel this way either. I don’t know what needs to happen to make this change happen, but it definitely needs to change.
{ 2 comments }
Loralee (131 comments.) 04.24.08 at 2:45 pm
I get somewhat annoyed at the term “Mommy blogger”. I like true “Mommy blogs” and have no beef with them, but people tend to cram everyone who is female, who blogs about their life and who has happened to pass a bairn or two through their hoo-hoo as “Mommy blogs”. I do write about my kids, but mostly? I write about me and what surrounds me.
That does include my offspring from time to time.
Beth (5 comments.) 04.24.08 at 10:43 pm
I agree with you 100%. For the most part I think I blog on how much I am failing as a parent and my own insecurities in this role. I am not pimping my kids.
I can’t control how other people see me but I have learned there are some really bitter people in this world who work hard to kill other people’s joy. I try not to let those kinds of people get to me.
The most important thing to me though is what my kids think. In the past, I have actually asked them if it’s alright for me to blog about certain things.
I don’t know.
Erma Bombeck did it way before any of us did. And everybody loved her.
If I didn’t blog, I would go crazy.
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