Mummyblogging: It sounds like a dirty word. Like something you’d spit out of your mouth, or scrape off your shoe. People say it with a snide smile, or throw it over their shoulder. Like ‘the dirty mummybloggers, bringing us all down’. It’s become the word for all that is boring and mundane in blogging.
It’s a bit of a rough deal, to be considered a mummyblogger. The rest of the blogosphere avoids mummyblogging like the plague, even as advertisers and sponsors court the hell out of you. Mummybloggers are considered to be sell outs, to be making money off the back of their children, to be blog whores.
It’s all a little bullshit if you ask me.
I spent a lot of time avoiding the whole mummyblogger cliche. I called myself a personal blogger, because I was writing about myself, with bits about the children thrown in. I wasn’t writing about poo or doing nothing but updating with photos of my kids and telling everyone how wonderful my life was.
It took a long time to come to terms with the fact I was a mummyblogger (spit, cough).
But I am.
I write about my kids, myself, my life.
THAT is mummyblogging. If you put photos of your kids on your blog, you are mummyblogging. Whinge about your sleepless night? Mummyblogging. Complain that nursing tops are hideously uncomfortable and that you tried to drown the baby in breastmilk? Mummyblogging. Remind everyone that kids are hard work and you’ve got it hard? Mummyblogging.
You might not do it all the time, but you’ve got to own the fact you do it sometimes. You might hate the term, it might make your insides curl up and die a little, but if you have ever blogged about your kids, then you’ve participated in that thing we call (spit, cough) mummyblogging.
Funnily enough it isn’t solely the genre of crap and mundane writing, in fact, some of the best writers I’ve ever read are writing about themselves and their children.
I’ve seen plenty of utterly crap blogs, written by people without children, so why don’t they get the (spit, cough) reaction that mummyblogging gets?
I share parts of my life and you guys click over to read about it. It’s a little voyeuristic, a little like being a whore, only without the need to shower afterwards. It’s also the closest thing I’ve got to a community and the most supportive network you’ll ever find.
Some people might exclaim that I’m selling out my children in exchange for Internet celebrity (hahahahahaa, cough, ahem), that children and disabilities are all currency that sells here in the InterWebs. And I’ll consider those points, probably while I tear my own hair out and the children bounce off the walls, and then I’ll disagree with them.
I’m selling myself, sure, maybe a little. After a fashion at least, but I don’t think I’m selling the kids.
Like most mummybloggers, the kids are the supporting cast to my (not-so-brightly-lit) stardom. They get their own lines, sure, but in the end it always comes back to me. Slightly narcissistic? Okay, probably. We’ll go with that.
But, that’s me, I’m the mummyblogger harlot. Taking off layers of my personality for money. Baring my soul for dollar signs. Supposedly.
I might as well own it.
And as the old saying goes, if you don’t like it, click away. It’s the Internet, it’s big enough for everyone.
Fucking BEST *cough spit* mummyblogging article I have read in a long time!!
BRAVA my dearest Veronica. You know I ADORE you, right?
PS. As I’ve told you, I am intending to sell shirts that say ‘IF YOU’RE A MUMMYBLOGGER, FUCKING OWN IT.’
Mummyblogger a dirty word!?! For who? For people who don’t have anything interesting to say, for people who can’t write, for people who lives haven’t been changed by kids, for people who have carrots up their behinds…..I’m a proud mummyblogger because of people like you who make it something to be proud of.
Bravo Veronica Bravo!
You know the ones that shit me. The bloggers who, loudly cry that they aren’t mummybloggers all over the internet but then when an old media newspaper journalist courts them, they are all mummy mummy mummy. heh.
hehe. Love it.
Fantastic, fantastic Post Veronica. Beautifully written! *claps hands wildly*
Well done.
Standiong ovatation from me too…….
Standiong ovation from me too…….
well written, Veronica! and my thoughts exactly!!
Well said you. You are a mummy and you blog. Just like me and all the others who have commented. Own it. We rock.
WOW! Great post. I’m starting to believe that the attitude towards mummybloggers is endemic of the wider community attitude towards mothers. There is still so much stereotyping – you’re either ‘just a mother’ or you’re a career driven harlot neglecting your children. And god forbid if you have an opinion on this and publish it on the internet! BRAVO!
I would say something awesome and articulate, but it’s almost 1am here and I’ll be up in 5 hrs with the kids. Oops… sorry, (cough,spit)mummyblogger comment! 😉
Just thinking over my 5 fave blogs — all mums.
Mums rock. Well, the good ones do.
I can’t believe people look down on ‘mummy-bloggers’. Must be people who
a) have no kids and are convinced of their moral superiority.
b) haven’t ever actually looked at a good ‘mummy-blog’.
I’m planning my own post on being a mummy-blogger, it’s been cooking (or stewing) in my head for days…. May I quote you?
Dude are you STALKING me? Stealing inspiration from my blog? Totes flattered.
I think you’re probably right, though. I try to steer clear of writing about Baby A.B too much because a) I think everyone would probably find it boring, she’s not old enough to be really funny yet, b) I’m not yet entirely comfortable having pictures of her on my blog and half the funny shit about her comes in picture form, c) I don’t know that I could make writing about how her favourite game IN THE WORLD is for us to stand her up on our bed, say ‘ONE, TWO, THREE..’ and then let her fall on her face while we shout ‘FLOOMPH!’ I mean, that shit is funny as fuck when you’re watching it, but it’s just not that easy to capture verbally. It’s easy to write about being disabled because most people still have (they think) a certain amount of respect for people with disabilities. Whereas the overall opinion of ‘mommies’ is that we’re child-obsessed, boring, whingey, petty, humourless, selfish, narcissistic….need I go on? It shrinks me down, thinking of someone coming across my blog and having that opinion re-affirmed in any way. I don’t want the responsibility of the world’s opinions of mothers! It’s too much! I can barely look after one kid and a husband, I certainly can’t be responsible for the reputation of mothers as a whole!
Arienette – I LOVE your blog and definitely steal inspiration from there. But actually, this time it was just spooky timing, all my posts are done ahead of time, this one was done about 10 days ago and scheduled. But your post is great and everyone else should read it too. (And her blog, her blog is cool). http://aortaborealis.blogspot.com/2010/09/defining-yourself-as-blogger.html
Belinda has already said what I wanted to say , so ‘Ditto Belinda’!!!!
Brenda – it’s been sitting in my drafts, scheduled to publish for a bit. Not bad for a (spit, cough) mummyblogger.
Ash – I read a lot of blogs from a huge genre of people and most of them are awesome. But occasionally I click on a link to somewhere that is bagging out mummybloggers for ‘selling out’ or ‘whoring themselves and their kids for products’ etc etc. This is in response to that.
Frogponds – that annoys me too. They screech and scream I’M NOT A MUMMYBLOGGER, but when an in-print media op shows up, they’re very quick to jump on the bandwagon. Not that any of them read here anyway. Hehe.
Toushka – thankyou!
Jodie – all clapping gratefully accepted!
Lucy – Hehe, your typos made me giggle. Maybe because it’s taken until lunchtime for me to be together enough to reply without mucking up every other word.
Tina – exactly, you either own it, or you don’t.
Annie – Exactly. Mummyblogging isn’t the sum of an entire blog, and it’s not the entirety of SN, but I do mummyblog and often. We shouldn’t be ashamed of that.
Belinda – I agree and it’s sad isn’t it, that it comes to this.
Marylin – naughty girl!
Toni – my very favourite blogs are all women writing about their families and homes. I did have a favourite male blogger (coughxboxcough) but he up and fucking quit on me.
Sharon – I ditto her too.
Hi, My name is Michelle and I am a Mummyblogger. There I said it. Am I proud. Damn yes! When I started blogging, it was to document our life on our new farm and the building of our dream home. How could I blog without talking about my kids, my family and what they mean to me? It’s all intertwined isn’t it? I can’t and won’t separate it. It’s now evolved into a personal blog and I take bits and pieces from everything, my posts are sometimes about my kids and the annoying and funny things they do, and sometimes about other funny things that amuse me that have nothing to do with my kids. Its a personal choice really. I just love to write and if it’s in the guise of a mummyblogger, so it is.
I’m not a mummy blogger, but if I have kids I’ll probably blog about it/them and then may well be in those ranks 😉
You were my first, and favorite . . . even though you had “no” disability yet, and didn’t mention Amy that often. But I still love you, now that you are a mummyblogger. lol.
I am a mum and I have a blog. And I do not give a shit if people do not like it. I love that people (and mums) can connect via writing and I agree with you…. don’t like it? Do not come back. Trush me, I will not be offended.
Great Post (as always)
Perhaps one of the things that can make people react is the perception of cliquey-ness… I know I have felt that way at times, about different groups, and have felt it re mummy groups, but then, it happens everywhere, and much of it is my perceptions rather than overt behaviours…
Reading somebody elses ‘Mummyblogging’ makes you feel normal.
That other people deal with, and discuss poo on a regular basis, (and you can see if your baby is sick by the message in their nappy) and even though they are at home and the house is still a mess at the end of the day, they are exhasted and good and ready to run a hot bath and relax.
And YOU were the one who told me you bleed for weeks after your baby is born, I had no idea and wouldn’t have packed so many pairs of undies for Emily’s birth. Things like that connect people and I think people without kids create labels because it’s an exclusive club that everyone needs to be a particular person to be part of.
I have recently started blogging (only a matter of weeks) and had heard the phrase, mummy blogger, but didn’t put myself in that box. Yes I have mentioned my children, as I think it would be difficult not to mention them if you blog and you have children. They are a whole set of life difficulties all on their own. I do however bog about me and what I’m up to.
I have no intention of putting photo’s of my kids on my blog, as I work in the world of child protection and my world is a little warped. I also have no intention of putting any advertising on my blog. It’s my own little corner of the internet and it’s just for me and my musings. These two factors are what led me to decided I wasn’t a mummy blogger. Maybe most of you will disagree, but though I don’t put myself in that category, whether you think I should be or not, I do follow mummy bloggers and my list of blogs I follow are fairly varied in content.
I strongly believe that the internet is for everyone and even if something isn’t to your taste, really, what is the point in spending time slagging off something you don’t have an interest in just because you can. Get on with your own blog! So all power to mummy bloggers, with no (cough spit)
I have recently started blogging (only a matter of weeks) and had heard the phrase, mummy blogger, but didn’t put myself in that box. Yes I have mentioned my children, as I think it would be difficult not to mention them if you blog and you have children. They are a whole set of life difficulties all on their own. I do however bog about me and what I’m up to.
I have no intention of putting photo’s of my kids on my blog, as I work in the world of child protection and my world is a little warped. I also have no intention of putting any advertising on my blog. It’s my own little corner of the internet and it’s just for me and my musings. These two factors are what led me to decided I wasn’t a mummy blogger. Maybe most of you will disagree, but though I don’t put myself in that category, whether you think I should be or not, I do follow mummy bloggers and my list of blogs I follow are fairly varied in content.
I strongly believe that the internet is for everyone and even if something isn’t to your taste, really, what is the point in spending time slagging off something you don’t have an interest in just because you can. Get on with your own blog! So all power to mummy bloggers, with no (cough spit)
Farmers Wifey – blogging without ever mentioning your children would be hard I think.
Fiona – for some reason, niches seem less I dunno, defined when there aren’t any kids involved?
Shygirl – you have been reading for a long long time!
Mrs Woog – I think that’s my point, I am a mum and I blog and sometimes its all out mummyblogging and sometimes it isn’t. But I DO do it sometimes and I’m prepared to own that.
Fiona – I agree, a lot of the cliquey US ‘MOMMY!blogs’ have a lot to answer for imo.
Tanya – Thats why I swore, when I started blogging, that I would always be real. Because when I’m having a bad day, I don’t want to read a slightly falsified account on someone else’s blog about how perfect their whole life is.
Jane – it took a long time for me to cope with the term mummyblogger. Maybe because I was writing about MY life before everything else? I dunno. Anyway, I do mummyblog now, but because it’s my blog, I am hugely eclectic. And I can cope with that – the term mummyblogger doesn’t offend me now, although it did for a long time.
I think if you’re not putting photos up, or writing about the kids (working in CPS would warp my views too) then you’re not really a mummyblogger, more a personal blogger. And you know what? personal bloggers are awesome too. My other blog is definitely not a mummyblog, despite mentioning the kids occasionally.
All you Mummybloggers should be proud. Balancing love, life and children, while keeping up entertaining blogs is a great achievement!.
It is! Hehe. And I mean, writing stuff people want to read is hard when you’ve got a toddler trying to delete it all.
Like others before me, I really loved this post Veronica. I am really not so sure why people look so down upon mummybloggers. I spoke to a journalist recently and spoke about the diverse voices that you will find within this niche and the amazing content you will find. I could tell that was not her first impression of mummybloggers. I hope the Aussie Bloggers Conference really helps to dispel the stereotype that is commonly held of mummy bloggers.
It’s really discouraging sometimes to realise how ‘mummy’ blogs are seen. And really, I am more than a mummyblog, but at the heart of it, it’s what Sleepless Nights is. Which is okay too imo.
Proud to be a mummy blogger right along side you – if it saves your sanity and makes you smile, who the hell cares what the subject matter is! Awesome reading, thanks for sharing
I would honestly go mad without this blog and my fantastic readers. If I hadn’t of discovered mummyblogs, I would be a lunatic. I bet my house would be spotless clean though! All that anxiety has to go somewhere.
That’s right, and if they don’t like it, we can hurl dirty nappies at them.
And pukey facewashers.
Bloody great post, Veronica.
My favourite was some time about a year ago, when Dooce wrote a post titled, ‘This is Mommyblogging.” – and it was all about Obama and American politics.
Truth is, mummybloggers have much, much more to say than just talking about nappies.
And it’s the truth. This is mummyblogging. It’s about SO MUCH MORE than shitty nappies and sleepless nights, even as it encompasses them too.
Brilliant, as always. I love your honesty and clarity. xx
Thankyou!
fabulous!!!
I’ve always thought I was a (cough spot snort) ‘mummy blogger’ because I am a personal blogger who happens to be a Mum. Being a Mum is my main job, it is what I do. Would me blog be any more ‘legitimate’ in the eyes of some if my job was a financial adviser and I blogged about it? Or if my job was a teacher and I blogged about it? I doubt it.
Maybe it is tied up in the fact that ‘just being a mum’ isn’t valued in come circles of our society? But I am proud to be a Mum. I made a conscious decision to be a Mum. And therefore I am proud to be a mummy blogger, and proud to share the community with other awesome bloggers like you!
I really think that’s it. It’s the same snide look when someone asks what you do and you tell them you stay home with the kids. Am sorry, but raising the next generation is a little<.i> important, you know?
Interesting take on it all…I’ve read some crap ”non-kid” blogs and some crap mummy blogs, too. Personally I will read a blog if the content is interesting…but most importantly, if it’s written well, if it entertains me. There’s mummy blogs I’ve come across that have some of the best writing I’ve seen for a long time.
I am the same with blogs, I will read just about anything if it’s interesting. Some women could write about nothing but cats and I would read it, because of the way they write.
Love it!
Before my girls were born, as a blogger, I really wanted to be a mummy blogger and now I am one and it’s not as exciting as I was expecting lol
No, it’s never as exciting as you expect. That said, with kids, you’re NEVER short of blog material!
No, just the time to write it down lol
Yeah, that’s the WHOLE problem. I try and have everything written in advance, then I know I can take a few days off if I can, and do 3 posts in an hour. That way, except for emergencies, I know I’m covered.
Nice one!
Thanks 🙂
Oh my, I think I am even further down the blogging evolutionary chain, being not only a (spit cough) mummyblogger, but a (spit cough puke) HOMESCHOOLING mummyblogger.
But let me tell you now, I would never have made it through the past few years of going against the norm in education amongst our peers here in NZ, without the incredible support of other mummybloggers – homeschoolers & nonhomeschoolers alike.
3 cheers for the mummybloggers – and if they make a buck out of it – someone please show me how to join them! 🙂
Oh god, a (spit, cough) homeschooling mummyblogger. GASP. Hehe. It’s really weird how things work isn’t it? Like someone else said, I think it’s more an indication of how society as a how perceives mothers that reflects on how mummybloggers are perceived.
Difficult one – I don’t mind saying I am at home with the kids, nor that my life revolves around the kids – that said I don’t feel like a mummyblogger I suppose because I blog to get away from all the kid business! But I hear what you are saying. Maybe I should own it!!Great post!
But I also agree, your blog isn’t very mummyblogger like at all. But then it is maybe, in the way in which more blogs written by mothers should be. Hilarious and full of truth.
A great post as always… I also think the whole mummy blogger thing stems from ‘just a mum’ thing when people ask what you do…and as soon as you say I am a mum….the eyes roll and they cannot get away from you far enough.
Yes, I agree totally. ‘Just a mum’ implies that you don’t know enough to be working outside of the home and that aside from raising the next generation (of peacemakers, world leaders, teachers, politicians) you should stay quiet and leave the rest of the world alone to get on with it.
Love it. A little like being a whore, only without the need to shower afterwards? Best line ever… just remember not to kiss on the mouth.
Hehehe, I’m glad you liked it!
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