“But as far as I know, that’s part of the deal of being a feminist. It means women should have the agency to choose paths that you personally might not choose for yourself”
No Instagram. No Twitter or Facebook either. I can relate to all of this, Rosie, by sharing my delight in walking outside every day and soaking in nature, in all of its awe. Sometimes I add an hour to this step away from the screen walk by finding a favorite tree and reading one of my books by Henry Thoreau, who showed us nature is the source of all inspiration.
I think it’s very admirable how you manage to depolarize a topic that easily divides people into one of two extremes. I, for one, am searching for ways to “spend more time engaging with the seasons, the place I live, and the land that I live on”. It’s easy for me to fall into the thought pattern that I either need to become a self sufficient leftist hippy who doesn’t need a connection to the electricity grid or any money at all; or that I need to find a rich man and give up my ambitions to become a stay at home mum. Oh, how our brains love to make things black and white. Thank you for bringing some gray tones into this online conversation and my thinking!
I don’t really have opinions about Ballerina farm, have never been on their IG (tho I believe Monfluenced author and substacker Sara P talks about journalists trying to reach out to her.) But this the idea that feminism is about the agency of individual choices- AKA “choice feminism”- and therefore that such choices don’t deserve critique, especially when the choices/privileges named are rooted in oppressive systems... doesn’t really seem like feminism at all.
I think the criticism of Ballerina Farm is that it's all aesthetic. If you aren't rich and good looking, no one cares. If Hannah gains weight or gets frumpy, it's all over. Look what happened to model Marisa Miller - she was a beauty that was everywhere, then gained a bit of weight after kid number two and now is totally ignored.
I’ve never heard of it and I am on the fence as to whether to click... there’s a similar vibe to an “influencer mum” in the UK although the children are less there are still a lot and I’ve heard lots about the team that curates her Instagram life - I still like to watch it though... not because it’s aspirational, because it’s soothing... I think? ✨
YES 🙌
“But as far as I know, that’s part of the deal of being a feminist. It means women should have the agency to choose paths that you personally might not choose for yourself”
No Instagram. No Twitter or Facebook either. I can relate to all of this, Rosie, by sharing my delight in walking outside every day and soaking in nature, in all of its awe. Sometimes I add an hour to this step away from the screen walk by finding a favorite tree and reading one of my books by Henry Thoreau, who showed us nature is the source of all inspiration.
I think it’s very admirable how you manage to depolarize a topic that easily divides people into one of two extremes. I, for one, am searching for ways to “spend more time engaging with the seasons, the place I live, and the land that I live on”. It’s easy for me to fall into the thought pattern that I either need to become a self sufficient leftist hippy who doesn’t need a connection to the electricity grid or any money at all; or that I need to find a rich man and give up my ambitions to become a stay at home mum. Oh, how our brains love to make things black and white. Thank you for bringing some gray tones into this online conversation and my thinking!
I had somehow never heard of Ballerina Farm until now. What a fair, broadminded introduction.
Gosh I knew something was icky about all the criticism, you captured it so well!
I don’t really have opinions about Ballerina farm, have never been on their IG (tho I believe Monfluenced author and substacker Sara P talks about journalists trying to reach out to her.) But this the idea that feminism is about the agency of individual choices- AKA “choice feminism”- and therefore that such choices don’t deserve critique, especially when the choices/privileges named are rooted in oppressive systems... doesn’t really seem like feminism at all.
I think the criticism of Ballerina Farm is that it's all aesthetic. If you aren't rich and good looking, no one cares. If Hannah gains weight or gets frumpy, it's all over. Look what happened to model Marisa Miller - she was a beauty that was everywhere, then gained a bit of weight after kid number two and now is totally ignored.
Loved this. Thank you!
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/30/style/ballerina-farm-mrs-world-hannah-neeleman.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb
I’ve never heard of it and I am on the fence as to whether to click... there’s a similar vibe to an “influencer mum” in the UK although the children are less there are still a lot and I’ve heard lots about the team that curates her Instagram life - I still like to watch it though... not because it’s aspirational, because it’s soothing... I think? ✨