Yes, I've been living under a rock. I've only recently read about the upheaval against Mommy Blogs, Momoirs and Mommy-Lit. I've even read other bloggers' takes on the whole concept of moms blogging, and the criticism has been less than kind.
It seems that if we write about our children or the flu or our latest family fight, we are spouting mindless drivel.
I'm saddened.
One blogger whose writing I frequently enjoy said, "What troubles me about mommy blogging? That so much of it is poorly written drivel. That if, in fact, weblogs are a historical record of the everyday (as the NYT suggests), [then] angst-soaked entries about the flu or potty training or whatever will be prevailing message of our time --- not, for example, the pursuit of a rich interior life via reading, thinking, learning; that child- and spouse-bashing, however cleverly written, will represent the common experience of the ordinary mother, not celebration, wonder, merriment. And did I mention that so much of it is poorly written drivel?"
This blog goes on to show photo after photo of several views of what I'm assuming is her impressive home library and beautiful photos of what I assume are her lovely daughters making Mardi Gras beads, drinking hot cocoa, displaying painted toenails.
Why am I saddened by this? It seems that it is only acceptable to write about your own family and your own interests if you demean the family writings and interests of others, if you are literate, well-spoken and grammatically correct. A blog is only worth writing if you're pointing to what you have read, what you know, where you shop...not what you feel and experience. So much for the everyday. So much for the everywoman.
Weblogs most likely are the historical record of the everyday. My every day is about the flu, about potty training, about sadness and sorrow, about happiness and triumph. If this is drivel, then bring it on. I'll continue to live the drivel-filled life.
And I'll continue to write about it.
"Cloudy, Snowd some. the old house Sheep [brot] two Ew lambs. I went to the barn to take Care of them. mr Ballard, Cyrus and Sally went to meeting."
Martha Ballard, from her diary on February 17th, 1799, an "unparalleled document in early American history."
