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Momfluenced: Inside the Maddening, Picture-Perfect World of Mommy Influencer Culture Hardcover – April 25, 2023

by Sara Petersen (Author)

99 ratings

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How momfluencer culture impacts women psychologically as consumers, as performers of their stories, and as mothers

On Instagram, the private work of mothering is turned into a public performance, generating billions of dollars. The message is simple: we’re all just a couple of clicks away from a better, more beautiful experience of motherhood.

Linen-clad momfluencers hawking essential oils, parenting manuals, baby slings, and sponsored content for Away suitcases make us want to forget that the reality of mothering in America is an isolating, exhausting, almost wholly unsupported endeavor. In a culture which denies mothers basic human rights, it feels good to click “purchase now” on whatever a momfluencer might be selling. It feels good to hope.

Momfluencers are just like us, except they aren’t. They are mothers, yes. They are also marketing strategists, content creators, lighting experts, advertising executives, and artists. They are businesswomen. The most successful momfluencers offer content that differs very little from what we used to find in glossy women’s magazines like Glamour and Real Simple, only they’re churning it out daily and that content is their lives.

We flock to momfluencers to learn about fashion, wellness, parenting, politics, and to find Brooklyn-designed crib sheets printed with radishes. Chances are, if you’re a mother reading this (and maybe even if you’re not!), you are an arm’s length away from something you’ve purchased because a momfluencer made it look good.

Drawing on her own fraught relationship to momfluencer culture, Sara Petersen incorporates pop culture analysis and interviews with prominent momfluencers and experts (psychologists, academics, technologists) to explore the glorification of the ideal mama online with both humor and empathy. At home on a bookshelf with Lyz Lenz’s Belabored and Jia Tolentino’s Trick Mirror, Momfluenced argues that momfluencers don’t simply sell mothers on the benefits of bamboo diapers, they sell us the dream of motherhood itself, a dream tangled up in whiteness, capitalism, and the heteronormative nuclear family.

Momfluenced considers what it means to define motherhood for ourselves when society is determined to define motherhood for us.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A deep dive into the ever growing ‘momfluencer’ culture . . . With an investigative eye and a sense of humor, Petersen sheds needed light on a key part of the social media landscape.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Readers who find themselves endlessly scrolling social media with that particular form of envy and aspiration it all seems to inspire will be fascinated by this insider’s look behind the spotless countertops and cherubic children.”
—Booklist

“Petersen deftly dissects the aesthetics of good motherhood, skewers popular momfluencer tropes, and pokes fun at her own tendency to buy both the goods and the fantasy they’re selling.”
—Reason

“Petersen's investigation isn't only about the allure of momfluencers, but also about what their existence says about the state of motherhood…Petersen's insights offer a thought-provoking analysis of the ways in which social media is shaping our understanding of what it means to be a mom today.”
—Salon

“Sara Petersen’s nonfiction debut is a fun and informative read for anyone interested in the ways we all sell ourselves to one another.”
—Glamour

“Deeply researched…Petersen, using historical scholarship and feminist theory, writes with a keen awareness of how Instagram’s momfluencer economy perpetuates long-standing biases in American attitudes toward motherhood.”
—Guernica

“Momfluenced provides a compelling, critical interrogation of how motherhood is performed online and asks readers to consider their complicity in how influencer culture unfolds.”
—New Media and Society

“Incisive and engrossing . . . Petersen approaches her material as both an avid consider and a skeptical critic of momfluencer content.”
—Literary Mama

“Incisive, illuminating, and prescient, Momfluenced thoroughly excavates of one of the internet’s most fascinating and insidious subcultures. If I could heart this book twice, I would.”
—Amanda Montell, author of Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism

“For women disappeared by the Cult of Domesticity, Momfluenced opens up the possibility of self-reclamation with a passionately conceived deep dive into modern motherhood as performance, commodity, and fantasy. An eye-opening must-read.”
—Rachel Yoder, author of Nightbitch

“I started underlining until I realized I was underlining the whole page. An important, freeing read for anyone who has ever gotten trapped in the endless doomscroll toward being a better, more beautiful mother.”
—Kate Baer, author of What Kind of Woman

“Momfluenced provides all the delicious pleasures of envy-snarking on the neutrals of your newsfeed, plus the necessary catharsis of your favorite group text, with the bonus of nutrient-rich research into how race, class, and politics influence our cultural conception of the ideal mother and why mindful consumption might be the first step to change. I’m so glad we have Sara Petersen’s voice to unravel these complexities with humor and pathos.”
—Julia Fine, author of The Upstairs House

“Reading Momfluenced is like having a frank conversation about motherhood, gender, and capitalism with someone much smarter, wittier, and well-read than I am. Sara’s vulnerable, incisive, and funny-as-hell take on momfluencer culture will stay with me for a long time. Fans of Under the Influence will gobble it up.”
—Jo Piazza, creator of the Under the Influence podcast

“Momfluenced takes us on a journey to understand our own history of domesticity and how it affects so much of our culture today. Petersen unpacks influence through a lens of who has power in this country and teaches us how we can change the narrative for the women coming up behind us. A must-read!”
—Eve Rodsky, author of Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live)

“Reading this book feels like having the best, most nourishing conversation about media, race, capitalism, and the collective public scream that is parenting right now with a friend who has done all the reading. Petersen’s deep research, smart analysis, and warmth makes this essential reading for parents who want to know what pulls us toward the endless scrolling that is an inescapable part of our twenty-first-century lives.”
—Krys Malcolm Belc, author of The Natural Mother of the Child

About the Author

Sara Petersen is a writer based in New Hampshire. Her essays about feminism, domesticity, and motherhood have appeared in the New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Washington Post, InStyle, Glamour, and elsewhere. She also writes a newsletter about the myth of the ideal mother, In Pursuit of Clean Countertops. You can find her at sara-petersen.com, and on Twitter and Instagram (@slouisepetersen).

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Beacon Press (April 25, 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0807006637
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0807006634
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.73 x 1.14 x 8.79 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #930,880 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #369 in Social Media Guides
- #2,463 in Communication & Media Studies
- #3,060 in Popular Culture in Social Sciences

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Sara has written about motherhood and feminism for The New York Times, Harper's Bazaar, The Washington Post, and elsewhere. She also writes the newsletter, In Pursuit of Clean Countertops, where she explores the cult of ideal motherhood. She lives in New Hampshire.

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Customers find the book excellently researched and thought-provoking, with one review noting how it mixes interviews and other research with personal experience. The writing style receives positive feedback, with customers describing it as well-written and readable.

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Customers find the book thought-provoking and excellently researched, with one customer noting how it mixes interviews and other research with personal experience.

"This is a well-written, excellently researched and approachable work that explores a realm that can be easily discounted because of the general..." Read more

"This book sort of shocked me by being both hugely informative and well researched but also super funny and personal...." Read more

"...To be sure, there is an interesting story to tell on this topic, from the influencer-conspiracy pipeline, critiques of consumerism and advertising,..." Read more

"...She has a journalistic writing style that I found engaging and readable, mixing interviews and other research with personal experience to explain..." Read more

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Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, finding it well-written and readable, with one customer noting its humorous tone.

"This is a well-written, excellently researched and approachable work that explores a realm that can be easily discounted because of the general..." Read more

"...me by being both hugely informative and well researched but also super funny and personal...." Read more

"...She has a journalistic writing style that I found engaging and readable, mixing interviews and other research with personal experience to explain..." Read more

"Loved every word of this book! Sara’s writing style is so funny, real, and cutting...." Read more

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mamamo
A deep, disturbing dive
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2023
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This is a well-written, excellently researched and approachable work that explores a realm that can be easily discounted because of the general dismissal of mothers/women in this culture, but make no mistake there is a lot of power, hustle, misinformation and hate in this aspect of IG. I was fascinated/horrified by what Petersen's comprehensive reporting revealed. Although she made it as breezy and compelling as possible, it was a very rich read. I am heartened by writers like Petersen who are carrying the torch of feminism and applying that light to illuminate contemporary cultural issues. I was getting an MA in Sociology focusing on gender and family, about the time when Petersen was in 2nd grade - what I studied seemed practically quaint compared to what's in this book. I feel upset at the nefarious power of some momfluencers to spread their hate and fear in the name of white nationalism/patriarchy. How could Petersen sleep at night while researching this????? I commend her integrity, dedication to important reporting and keen intellect.

I may not be a typical reader of this work: I am a late-life mom who was free of FB until my kids were 2 and 4 around 2012. Only in last year or 2 did I get on IG and I use it in very targeted, conscious way. I feel like I dodged a bullet not being influenced by it when I was younger.

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8 people found this helpful

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Amy Chen
Necessary read for blog / Insta followers
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2024
If you have ever been sucked into the domestic sphere of mom influencers, read this book to help you swim through the sea. I want the follow up - what happened to mom influencing during post pandemic? (Taza, frequently mentioned, quit) MAGA 2.0? I want a discussion of trad wives now. I appreciate the take on how the aesthetic centered whiteness both in race and in minimal flat lays… how did this approach get worse now? I guess it is a good review when I think of what I want to read next rather than what this book was about… ha! But we do need to take internet culture seriously and this is a good jumping off point into what the heck has come of us.

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Amazon Customer
Finally some truth around motherhood
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2023
Verified Purchase
This book sort of shocked me by being both hugely informative and well researched but also super funny and personal. I legit found myself cackling over the author’s mention of almost buying twee picnic basket lunchboxes for her kids due to a certain momfluencer’s influence (hint: it was rudy jude) and teared up when reading about her relationship with her mother, which informed how the author viewed her own performance of motherhood. I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time (and recommending it to everyone I know!)

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5 people found this helpful

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Jess
This book was "performative" of a serious topic
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2023
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Do you like verbose descriptions of instagram feeds? Do you like oversimplified politics? How about being a mom and doing mom things repetitively described as "performative"? Do you like reading what equals a complete stranger's journal entries about their mother daughter relationship issues? Then this is the book for you. If not, keep moving.

To be sure, there is an interesting story to tell on this topic, from the influencer-conspiracy pipeline, critiques of consumerism and advertising, and important and *indepth* discussions of mothers using their children as publicity - unfortunately that is not in this book. Recommend pass.

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6 people found this helpful

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Jackie P
Super interesting and readable
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2023
Verified Purchase
As a parent, I've consumed so much momfluencer content on Instagram. I knew that there was something weird about it, but didn't have a lot of language to describe it. I loved this book so much because it clearly articulated the topic in an accessible, nuanced way. She has a journalistic writing style that I found engaging and readable, mixing interviews and other research with personal experience to explain this cultural phenomenon. I've recommended it to several friends already!

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10 people found this helpful

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Sarah Ezrin
Riveting and insightful
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2023
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Loved every word of this book! Sara’s writing style is so funny, real, and cutting. I learned a lot about myself and this world, and loved having her as a guide.

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ethereallyme
Interesting... but highly speculative
Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2024
To be completely honest, this book felt like the musings of a mother whose experience of motherhood did not match her expectations in a disappointing way, and so she set out to go after women whose experience of motherhood seemed better. It definitely read as catty at parts, despite simultaneously holding up feminist ideals. That said, if a goal of this book is to have readers think a bit more critically about otherwise passive consumption of social media, it does accomplish that. It lost me a bit with how much was devoted to deconstructing minimalist, white interiors. As a Black woman who prefers calm, neutral interiors, it felt like a stretch to suggest my choices were influenced by white supremacism. The author tries to breakdown the inherent problems with "performing" motherhood, but much of it was speculative when we are not, in fact, in the minds of these momfluencers. It read like a lot of projection. Bottom line is, if you're not able to manage your social media intake, to the point that it makes you feel like a failure or depressed or unhappy, you maybe shouldn't be on it, or should figure out how to limit your consumption.

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Momfluenced: Inside the Maddening, Picture-Perfect World of Mommy Influencer Culture Hardcover – April 25, 2023

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5.0 out of 5 stars A deep, disturbing dive

4.0 out of 5 stars Necessary read for blog / Insta followers

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally some truth around motherhood

2.0 out of 5 stars This book was "performative" of a serious topic

5.0 out of 5 stars Super interesting and readable

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting and insightful

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting... but highly speculative

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, I couldn't put it down. A must read!

A deep, disturbing dive

Necessary read for blog / Insta followers

Finally some truth around motherhood

This book was "performative" of a serious topic

Super interesting and readable

Riveting and insightful

Interesting... but highly speculative

Brilliant, I couldn't put it down. A must read!