Mommy or Foe? Mapping Momfluencers

This year, we celebrate 20 years of the influencer — with the first influencers being moms, through the highly popular ‘00s mommyblog. Thanks to the mommyblog, parenthood was able to become, and often still is, a “lively, public conversation”.

For many mothers, the blogosphere became a support network. However, looking at the mom-o-sphere today, it seems that things have taken a turn. News outlets report that online channels catering to mothers make them more anxious than reassured. What was once a raw and unfiltered space to make mistakes—and where looking for help while not looking one’s best was encouraged and celebrated—has now been filled with feeds of perfect images of families in idyllic settings that both cater to our desires and feed our anxieties. Have we really reverted to this outdated media landscape, and where do we go from here?

For this event on momfluencers, The Hmm aims to create a space where we can navigate the joys and controversies of momfluencing throughout time and space. How can we understand it as a core example of the ongoing online shifts in how we network, socialize, support one another, and inevitably are influenced?

Thinking through various forms of support networks, we want to make this evening a collective space where we will understand, question, and map out momfluencing and all its different sub-niches, across its myriad frictions. Going beyond the usual speaker-audience dynamic, this will be an evening where we will absolutely need your participation (inspired by our momfluencing muses, think roundtable discussion meets Tupperware party, meets soft play area!). We will also have 3 speakers present who will guide us and answer our questions as we move through these frictions.

Not only do we want to better understand the phenomenon of momfluencing, but we also want to highlight the networks of care that still exist both online and offline — hopefully inspiring us all to maintain and/or create supportive and inclusive networks in the new ‘global villages’ raising us.

For this event, we are partnering with Vrouw aan het IJ, a vibrant and progressive meeting and development location where sustainable space is created for the socioeconomic development of women and girls ages 12 and up.

🗓 Date: Wednesday 25 September 2024
📍 Location: Vrouw aan het IJ, Buiksloterweg 7A, 1031 CC Amsterdam

⏰ Doors open: 19.30 CEST
🕗 Program starts: 20.00 CEST
🎟 Tickets: on-site €8,- / on-site student discount €5,- / online livestream €5

♿️ Accessibility Note
During the event we can provide live closed captioning for those with hearing impairment. Please reach out to us if you are joining onsite and have this access need, so we can reserve a seat for you within view of the screen with captions. If you are joining online via our livestream, live captioning will be available as one of the streaming modes.

💙 This event is kindly supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL, Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, and het Cultuurfonds.