Ballerina Farm's "glamorized humbleness"
When baby names aren't just baby names
I first discovered the glory that is @emdoodlesandstuff on TikTok when a kind soul forwarded me Em’s video predictions about Ballerina Farm baby names, thinking I might be interested, and obviously being entirely correct.
I must admit to being embarrassingly late to the TikTok mom game, mostly because for book research, I restricted myself to Instagram so as not to write more than one book. But Em immediately grabbed my attention with her astute assessment of Hannah and Daniel selling meat and merch, sure, but mostly, “selling the idyllic vision of American homesteaders.”
Em points out that the exposed beams in the infamous thoughtless-window photo are an “intentional design choice that actually take more work and more money to put together” than, say, mere drywall. She also points out that Agnes the Aga stove might trick the casual viewer into seeing “authentic Utah farmhouse,” but Em posits that a typical Utah farmer’s kitchen is much more likely to look like this.
Em’s point in all of this is that aesthetics are everything. In momfluencer culture especially, aesthetics really. are. everything. We assume things about a momfluencer’s parenting philosophies, politics, diet, race, socioeconomic status, and personal style all based on her particular aesthetics. And because aesthetics are so recognizably coded, aesthetics can help us quickly assess whether or not we might want to follow a particular momfluencer or buy whatever she’s selling. With our dollars or emotional investment.
What else can indicate a momfluencer’s aesthetics according to Em? BABY NAMES.
In the case of Ballerina Farm baby names, Em thinks the girls’ names in particular emphasize Hannah’s aesthetic of “glamorized humbleness,” which she illustrates by drawing attention to Hannah’s frequent no-makeup looks.
Em notes that “we’ve been kinda conditioned to see a no-makeup face as a sign of vulnerability and bravery . . . but is this actually coming a from a place of humility or just working with mama gave you in a way that fits the narrative?” Hannah presents as conventionally or marketably beautiful with or without makeup. So choosing between presenting herself as one kind of beautiful (no-makeup or at least makeup that looks like no-makeup) and another kind of beautiful (makeup-makeup) isn’t really a difficult, vulnerable, or risky choice. Either way, Hannah is able to wield the valuable currency of feminine beauty, which is worth quite a bit in life and on social media.
Back to the names. Hannah and Daniel’s girls’ names are old-timey, yes. Frances, Lois, and Martha. But Em argues that they’re not “timeless classics” like the boys’ names (Henry, George, and Charles). Girl equivalents to these names, according to Em, might be Elizabeth, Mary, or Anne. And, Em posits, “If [Hannah] wanted American homesteader names that are still lovely and feminine, why not Lucy, Hazel, or Mabel?”