Thursday Murmurings
Influencers, 'sharenting' and badass women doing badass things
Happy Thursday, chicas!
Kicking it off this week with a couple of quotes from Yoko Ono:
“Some people are old at 18 and some are young at 90. Time is a concept that humans created.”
With each birthday, I think about what it means to get older, how we’re supposed to behave or what is expected of us at certain ages. The quote above reminds me that, screw it, we can be who we want, when we want.
“We’re all water from different rivers, that’s why it’s so easy to meet; we’re all water in this vast, vast ocean, someday we’ll evaporate together.”
I love this idea, of us all just floating, ebbing and flowing together. When I look at the ocean or up at the stars, I’m always reminded of how ephemeral this all is, how small we are in relation to the universe and it’s oddly comforting.
Yeah, you could say, since moving to Canada, I’ve leaned into my hippydom pretty heavily!
Here’s some bits n’ pieces that caught my eye this week:
Whew! There is a lot to digest in this piece about beauty influencer Addison Rae, but it is a very interesting read. I started a lifestyle blog back in 2007 and when it started to take off a bit in ‘09, I remember being stunned by the popularity of beauty blogs. Given, I’ve only ever been competent with concealer and an eyebrow pencil, much of the beauty chatter was lost on me. Well, cut to the Addison Rae era and my God…beauty and influencer culture is a whole different beast. This girl has over 78 million followers. That’s more than the population of the UK! But there are some very interesting points made here about the beauty industry and its marketing practices. I’ll probably never graduate beyond concealer and a brow pencil though.
Kind of on the same tack, I found this article about beauty bloggers who are 50+ and HELL YES, MORE OF THIS PLEASE!
A new documentary is highlighting the secret history of women in electronic music. Apparently it seems to leave out the contributions of non-white, non-western women which, like, how, at this point, are people still making work with these kinds of blind spots? UGH. Anyway, this article about it highlights some of the non-white women who pioneered the scene. I don’t know a whole lot about electronic music myself, but am always excited to learn about badass women.
This is a great piece about mum blogs and influencers monetising motherhood and I would say adding new dimensions to the culture of mum-dom altogether.
And whew…this is probably a topic I could dedicate a whole newsletter to, but this article about ‘sharenting’ (posting your kids all over social media) is super interesting. I know this is an issue that divides many. I’m personally not particularly pro posting kids online, but I know many who do it. With each article I read about the potential future ramifications of it, I can’t see it ever being a thing I’d do. Though that said, I do absolutely understand that it provides much connection, community and sanity for the parents who choose to do it. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this - are you for or against posting pictures and information about your kids online and why?
To learn more about the other things I do in my life, check out my site Bangs and a Bun - hit me up for some consulting or life coaching if you fancy it.
On Monday’s Murmuration, I’m talking about losing my religion but finding faith in other things.
“When I started teaching spin, after a couple of years of trying to figure out how to actually be good at it, when I finally unlocked it, finally had my first class where everything slotted into place - it felt religious. I felt connected, elevated, uplifted, joyful. I believed in something - the power of everyone in there, our shared purpose, our resolute determination. That sense of community - I don’t care what you tell me, I don’t care that it’s happening on a bike - that is church.”
The Monday edition of The Murmuration is essays, musings, think pieces etc on the meatier stuff. Join the flock and get a little deeper with us - $5 per month or $50 for the year.
Speaking of the Monday editions of The Murmuration, I want to do a multi-part deep-dive series on having children, looking at this from multiple perpectives:
Those who have kids
Those who are undecided about having kids
Those who are happily child-free
Those who want children but have fertility issues
Those who are step parents
I want this to be a super honest look at our experiences. My goal with The Murmuration is for it to be a safe space, an intimate community, where we can have these deeper conversations, free of judgement. If you fall into one of the above categories and would be happy to talk to me about your experience, please do drop me a line at bangs@bangsandabun.com. I’m happy to keep you anonymous, if it makes you more comfortable. Having these conversations helps us all learn and be better able to support each other and those in our lives who may be struggling with these issues.
Until next week; smile at strangers, spread good vibes, be nice to people.