Sara Petersen examines the distinct intersections of American motherhood and influencing culture in Momfluenced: Inside the Maddening, Picture-Perfect World of Mommy Influencer Culture. With candor, she shares her experience of motherhood as "so boring, so hard, and so thankless," a reality that resulted in fascination with mothers on Instagram who "make it look magical, like the only thing anyone would ever want to be." Petersen, drawing on extensive research, explores the ways momfluencing reflects and supports systemic inequities in American motherhood--and the many ways it directly benefits and harms mothers.
Petersen defines a momfluencer as "someone who monetizes her identity as a mother on a social media platform," though her analysis includes the impact of any mother's story marketed for the masses. From Betty Crocker ads in the 1950s to mommy bloggers in the early aughts, she applies a cultural and historical lens to the origins of momfluencing, ultimately arriving at a present-day analysis grounded in the legacy of the Cult of Domesticity, the unattainable ideal of the perfect (white) mother, and the shockingly fast growth of social media. Throughout, Momfluenced weaves in examples of momfluencers in the wilds of Instagram to offer very real anecdotes about the ways such content connects new mothers with important resources about mental health and postpartum care; the dangerous political roots underlying some trends; and the capitalist underpinnings of the industry designed to get emotionally vulnerable mothers to buy, buy, buy. Momfluenced is eye-opening and affirming, guaranteed to resonate with anyone who has interacted with a mother and social media in the 21st century--in other words, anyone at all. --Kerry McHugh, freelance writer