There are almost 10,000 of you!
Beyond countertops?
I started this newsletter because of a father o’ hogs and his poetic stylings.
In the wee hours of a March morning, nestled into the corner of my couch, ear plugs still in from the night before so as to drown out the musicality of my sweet cherubs and their wholesome television programs, I read about “diurnal creatures,” “natural” motherhood, and of course, one unforgettable window. I had feelings! I had thoughts!
Spurred on by nothing but my own desire to make sense of the fiery jumble of these thoughts and feelings a patriarch of pigs ignited through a single Instagram post, I wrote a thing and pressed “publish.” I hastily named the bigger project In Pursuit of Clean Countertops because countertops are my pet maternal metaphor. They are THE aesthetic shorthand for ideal domestic motherhood despite them being the result of invisible, unpaid labor. And, of course, any momfluencer worth her salt is contractually obligated [I am kidding] to post at least one photo of a sun-washed countertop dotted with a single bud vase and nary a dirty sock in sight.
Back in 2021, my original intent with this newsletter was to focus on momfluencers. What they sold, what they shared, and how their content shapes cultural understandings of contemporary motherhood. And certainly, much of this newsletter has stayed true to that original focus.
I’ve written about momfluencers and ballet.
I’ve written about momfluencers and dildos!
I’ve written about momfluencers and gender identity.
I’ve written about momfluencers living their best “trad lives.”
But I’ve also expanded the purview of this newsletter to include pieces on the following.
While many of you likely were drawn to this space because you’re fellow momfluencer-obsessives, I imagine some of you are here for other reasons, and in the interest of making this a newsletter you’ll be excited to read each week, and in the interest of continuing to foster a curious, supportive, validating community, I’d love to hear them! What brings you here? What do you want more of? I’m opening up comments for everyone this week, but commenting privileges are typically a paid perk (which you can read more about here).
Congrats on 10k - well-deserved!
I'm here because, despite being in my eighth year of motherhood, I still have very complicated feelings about it and it feels good to know that other people do, too. I'm also obsessed with the perfect picture of motherhood presented by influencers and love making fun of mom-targeted ads. I'd love to see more interviews with people working to dismantle the perfect mom myth and, of course, more deep dives on momfluencers (there seem to be more coming out of the woodwork every day)! Thank you for writing this newsletter, it's everything I never knew I always needed.
I’m here because I’m a mom, and I struggled through all the years of my kids growing up, struggled with impossible expectations and unseen domestic labor. My kids are grown, I’m not on social media and the burdens on moms seems ever more impossible. Your writing helps me unpack what I feel about motherhood. It helps me empathize with my younger coworkers who are also moms.
My motto for this phase of my life is “learning to see the water” referencing, of course, that saying that fish are unaware of the water they swim in (and I wonder, are they actually unaware??). So, learning to see how racism weaves its way into everything, learning to see anti-fat bias also everywhere, and your posts help me learn to see the structural forces at work that say what a “good mom” is and how we all respond to that implicit and explicit messaging.
I’m so glad I found your writing! Congrats on 10k and thank you!