This year, we’re celebrating 20 years of the influencer — with the first influencers being moms, through the highly popular ‘00s mommyblog.
The momfluencer landscape looks much different now, at least on the surface. We see momfluencers in clean, beige, marble-floored houses making chewing gum and sourdough pastries from scratch. Momfluencers in cottages with vegetable gardens, harvesting kumquats with multiple blond children in tow. And of course, the tips and tricks interspersed with ads and sponsorships.
Thanks to the original mommy blog, parenthood was able to become and often still is a “lively, public conversation”. However, as seen in feeds today, momfluencing can also present itself as an overly curated version of motherhood, often reinforcing colonial, white supremacist gender roles and stereotypes.
We ask: what exactly are these varying forms of digital imaginaries building?
To explore this question and more, The Hmm is investigating momfluencing as part of our upcoming research dossier in the fall. As part of it, we are launching an Open Call welcoming your image contributions. We are looking for imagery that reflects upon momfluencing playfully and critically. This can be in the form of a single image or video, or a series/combination of either/both.
A fee of €500 (excl. VAT) is available for the work.
The deadline to submit your short proposal is Sunday July 28, 2024. If selected, we’ll be in touch by Wednesday August 7th. We are a small organization, so unfortunately, although we value your proposals greatly, we are unable to respond to every submission individually.
Curious about examples of previous image contributions?
You can have a look here:
- A Blacker Box (Dossier 14: Co-creation with AI)
- Models for culture producer communities (Dossier 12: The Creator Economy)
- Perfect Sync: Mapping TikToks through video collage (Dossier 5: TikTok)
The application form can be found here.
We look forward to seeing your proposals!