Episode 08: Sara Petersen’s Writing Holds a Mirror to Momfluencer Culture and American Motherhood
“Motherhood makes us all so insecure and vulnerable as it is. It's just an innately vulnerable experience that's just rife for feeling bad about yourself or feeling unsure about your choices. We're just ‘onslaughted’ with so many people—most of them strangers—that we're just constantly consuming other people's renditions of motherhood.
And it's dizzying in terms of feeling comfortable and solid with your own decisions.”
~ Sara Petersen
Momfluencers on social media are pervasive in today's culture, with focuses on everything from fashion, to parenting philosophies, to humor. It's interesting to see the impact of performative motherhood, both on practicing artists and mothers, how we present our private and public selves. And there's a lot to learn from Sara Petersen’s work, especially as it holds a mirror to American motherhood in this particular socio-historical moment.
Join Kaitlin as she talks with Sara, a writer based in New Hampshire, about momfluencers, as well as how she became the writer and mother that she is today.
Sara’s first book, Momfluenced (http://sara-petersen.com/) examines the performance of motherhood through the multi-layered phenomenon of momfluencer culture, what this reveals about the texture of modern motherhood and what we might learn from it. Momfluenced will be coming out in 2023 with Beacon Press.
Sara and Kaitlin talk about:
How Sara became a writer and how she manages to juggle writing with motherhood.
The early life experiences that informed Sara’s views and fantasies of what motherhood should look like, in juxtaposition with the performative aspects of motherhood that she now unpacks in her writing.
Momfluencer culture and it’s different faucets and trends
The broad spectrum of postpartum mood disorders and intense changes we experience after birth, plus how they are habitually glossed over and downplayed.
In many of these episodes, we've covered the privilege of moms pursuing creative work who have the resources to do so without working a traditional 9 to 5 out-of-the-home job.
If you're a creative parent building an artistic life while also caregiving and working an unrelated 9 to 5 job, we'd love to hear from you and how you're able to find creative moments in the mayhem of your daily life and work.
Drop us a line hello@postpartumproduction.com
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Find out more about Sara:
Website: http://sara-petersen.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slouisepetersen/?hl=en
Twitter: https://twitter.com/slouisepetersen
Related resources:
Sara Petersen's recent newsletter about her takeaways from this podcast interview: https://sarapetersen.substack.com/p/babies-dont-need-cardigans?utm_source=email
Listen to Sarah Chaves in Episode 1 as she reflects on her juggle of creative pursuits with motherhood and a 9-to-5: https://www.postpartumproduction.com/episodes/01
Here’s Emily Henderson’s blog: https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/all-posts
Naomi Davis on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taza
More about Writer and poet Kate Baer: https://www.katebaer.com/
Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.
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