There was a bit of a kerfuffle on Twitter the other night, when one blogger took umbrage to another blogger referring to her as a Mummy blogger.
I know. A kerfuffle on Twitter. Involving bloggers. Unprecedented.
One of the women involved was slighted at the very idea of being a Mummy blogger.
Another said, “Well, it’s okay, because I’m not a proper Mummy blogger.”
Lately, I seem to be reading a flood of Tweets, emails and blog posts about how some of us are PROPER Mummy bloggers. While the rest of us are, presumably, doing it all WRONG.
Perhaps this squirming under the label ‘Mummy blogger’ comes from the dubious social status that comes with being a ‘proper’ Mummy blogger – after all, being a Mummy isn’t considered a high-status role by many (stupid) people, and admitting you write a blog can be right up there will telling the world you play Dungeons and Dragons on a weekend, after your Mum has helped you update your online dating profile.
In some circles, Mummy blogging is talked about with open derision. And there seem to be so many rules. What’s fun about that?
Here’s the thing, though – I love being a Mummy blogger. I’ve no issue with telling people I write a Mummy blog. I’m proud of this imperfect, slightly weird record of our lives.
For me, Mummy bloggers are women who write about their lives as mothers, and people in the world. Sometimes, we write about things that happen inside our families, but we’re just as likely to write about the things we see, people we meet, and places we go.
A Mummy blog, then, can be anything you want it to be. A Mummy blog can be a journal, a platform to campaign or educate, an emotional outlet, a creative exercise or professional springboard. It can be a way to generate extra funds or bring some new products and experiences into the family. It can be any combination of those things on any different day.
And it can – clutch your chest, ladies – be written by a man. Who will probably get to call themselves a ‘Dad who blogs’ as though that’s somehow more serious and worthy than what we frivolous mothers get up to online.
Many parent bloggers work with brands. That doesn’t make them a sell-out. Most bloggers write their posts with care, and put their names to everything they write. That’s a lot more honest and transparent than a great deal of media in 2011, frankly. Providing everyone’s operating within the law, I see no reason for anyone to judge any blogger for whatever arrangement they might come to with a business.
I read hundreds of parent blogs every month as publisher of the Tots100. And what those blogs have in common is that they’re providing a platform for women’s voices to be heard. And in a time when women are still battling for equality in so many parts of life, I can’t help but feel a little thrill of triumph every time I think about how women are using social media to make themselves heard.
So, yeah. I’m a Mummy Blogger. As for being proper, well, it’s a bit late to start now, isn’t it?
What do you think – is there a definition of ‘proper’ Mummy blogging, or do you take a more relaxed view?
