When MAHA Moms Look Cool
Et Tu Rudy Jude?
Julie D. O’Rourke is a mother of three who lives on an island in Maine with her partner Tony (aka Hot Tony) and does nearly everything possible by hand. Her clothing line, Rudy Jude, features momfluencer-iconic carpenter jeans similar to the ones elder millennials wore in high school, shapeless sack blouses, and pajamas that are supposed to be worn during the day.
O’Rourke is beloved by the type of momfluencer consumer who dreams not of white mansions in Malibu and a perfectly contoured face, but of the wild beauty of the outdoors and a face too self-assured to need or want makeup. The type of gal (me, it’s me) who dreams of devoting her days to work done with her hands and beauty and joy and mess and irreverence. The type of woman who wished her exterior (and her home’s exterior) better communicated the complicated wonder of her inner world.
O’Rourke has been softly criticized for her failure to engage in politics. Prior to 2020, momfluencers could present themselves as apolitical and largely escape censure. But after Covid, many momfluencers were pressured (either directly by their followers or indirectly by the culture at large) to clarify their political leanings. Which makes sense! If you’re boycotting Amazon or Target because you disagree with their business practices and overarching villainy, you might also want to use the affiliate link of a momfluencer with whom you’re ethically and/or politically aligned.
But O’Rourke has remained consistently politically quiet. And I think she gets away with it because O’Rourke’s performed identity is uniquely malleable. For the homeschooling Christians, she’s wholesome by way of cozy fireplaces and old-timey children’s books. For the homesteading Trump supporters, she marches by the beat of her own drum and harvests her own chaga mushrooms. For antifeminist tradwives, she promotes Ballerina Farm colostrum powder. And for the crunchy MAHA moms, she makes her own St. John’s Wort tinctures.
There are plenty of reasons a momfluencer follower might align O’Rourke with the political right, which makes her appeal to progressive moms (like me!) all the more interesting.