The rebranding of YLCF's Gretchen as “Gretchen Louise�

[silvia]

I thought I'd write in with an update on our old friend Gretchen of YLCF: the one who sing-songishly promoted “waiting not dating†and worshiped at the altar of Josh Harris while a SAHD (ylcf.org/2006/02/joshua-harris-and-new-attitude/), cheerfully advocated wifely submission and parent-directed romance (ylcf.org/2006/04/of-respect-submission/, ylcf.org/2009/12/courtship-dtr/) and unceremoniously kicked her former best friend Natalie Nyquist off of YLCF's editorial board, apparently for daring to remarry without her parents' permission (http://freejinger.yuku.com/topic/1589/L ... Deiu3GS_QM).

Now, as some of you know, Gretchen is a mother of 3 kids 4 and under, and she recently made a to-do about her own “personal rebranding†(gretchenlouise.com/2012/08/consistent-personal-branding/). Is she looking to monetize her blog in a serious way? Dunno; she doesn't seem to have much to sell (looks like she offers web design services), and income from the BlogHer ads she runs must be negligible. More likely, she gets bored with little to do but housework, child care, and manning the antique store cash register, so she's looking for some kind of diversion that will let her exercise her writing skills. (And yeah, she's a perfectly decent writer from a stylistic and grammatical point of view, even though many of her ideas as expressed on YLCF are frighteningly retrograde.)

What strikes me about this elaborate rebranding, though, is that there's not much of substance about it. Sure, Gretchen put together a new title and header for her blog, and sure, she may have nixed the submissive Little Pink House-era gushing about how her husband “takes incredibly good care of this girl,†but little in her newer writings or redesign gives the forthright impression that she's evolved since her days as YLCF “webmistress†under her parents' roof. She hasn't renounced anything specific she wrote during that time, as far as I'm aware, and her current posts, like the older ones on Little Pink House, include a lineup of airy Jesus-centric meditations (gretchenlouise.com/2012/08/of-water-skins-and-the-shore/), photos of her kids, reviews of children's books (overtly Christian ones, of course), and veiled insinuations that all is not roses at the Little Pink House (“There are days when I can’t even connect the dots of my own feelings enough to know what I’d say if I had the words. The only phrases I can string together come from sad mad Country songs and I wonder if songwriters are always in a state of emotional conflict.â€)

To all of which I say, WT(YLC)F? How can she still stand behind the tone-deaf fundamentalist propaganda she penned as a youngster, seldom pausing to let her readers in on the ways she's grown since then? Gretchen herself has likely moved on to some extent intellectually and spiritually; I'm perfectly willing to believe that. But if she has—and if she's unwilling to share much of significance about that journey with her impressionable, mostly young readers—she's doing them a disservice. Part of the value of writing clearly and well is that you can communicate genuine personal struggles and hard-won, non-obvious truths to your intended audience. Gretchen seems to have opted out of that (admittedly, considerable) challenge and gone mostly for the mommy blogger equivalent of small talk.

[Sister Mozz]

Thanks for the new topic.

While searching for the kissing picture earlier, I came across this post. gretchenlouise.com/2009/02/pictures-and-frames/ That was in February. Natalie "remarried" in April was scrubbed off YLCF by May. I wonder if Gretchen still keeps this picture around?

As far as the rebranding, I had hoped that this meant she now recognized herself as her own person, rather than "Merritt's Girl." Unfortunately, like you, I've seen nothing that indicates she has changed that much. Pretty much same old, same old. Just with a new title.

[LucySnowe]

I was definitely hoping that the whole move from Little Pink House to Gretchen Louise (and the Twitter equivalent, ofmerritt - er, Merritsgret ;) - to GretLouise) was ever so slightly - well, I'm not going to say 'feminist' - but some kind of consciousness-raised awareness that she has a name of her own? I'm sure I saw something akin to that, but can't find it in the rather dry 'why I rebranded' explanations.

I suspect that blogging conference Merritt allowed her to attend not only gave her social marketing skills, but helped open her eyes to other outlooks of, you know, having an identity that are still compatible with being a farmer's wife. Real life has a way of doing that....

Compared to some of the SOTDRT bloggers we snark on here, and their appalling skill with language (not entirely their own fault, for many of them), Gretchen's a freaking Pulitzer Prize winner. And I think that mommy blogging is one of the few ways she can legitimately write. It's a hobby, after all, so she isn't at any risk of removing her husband's Provider Of The Family status. If she makes a bit of money off ads and promotions (I have no idea about how such things work but I assume she gets a kickback of some kind for the 'enter to win x' competitions) then it's the 21st-century equivalent of pin money; a hundred years ago she'd be selling extra eggs when the hens were laying well. She can focus on what she wants to write about, and the image she wants to promote of herself - which is what blogs are for, after all - without having to submit to any kind of editorial process, such as you'd have if you wrote novels or how-to-be-a-good-Christian-mom guides. She can write in five-minute chunks if that's all she can grab out of her day.

Has she ever made a statement about whether Merritt approves of her posts before they go up?

As for the moving on past her earlier beliefs - this is why I prefer reading Ashleigh's posts, because she is willing to say 'hey, I don't think the same way about this anymore', even if she hasn't quite reached the other side yet (she had a post about learning her uncle was gay, iirc). I strongly suspect a lot of that was due to her father leaving her mother for a woman he met on the internet, which seems to have absolutely ripped apart Ashleigh's worldview. I do respect Gretchen's decision not to air her dirty laundry on the internet, but there are ways to be honest without exposing the seamy underside of your marriage.

I know it's been discussed before - and articulated by someone who was on some very good cough medicine! - that the YLCF founders all went on to rather different lives than what they were supposed to have (Gretchen by far being the closest to that ideal), but that YLCF still clings to the same ideals. That bugs me more than Gretchen Louise's own blog, because it's more of a 'here's me and my life' account, whereas YLCF's supposed to inspire and motivate and all that. If they don't want to discuss abortion, fine, but at least explain that you don't get the perfect life just because you don't screw the guy before the ceremony.

[wtylcf]

To all of which I say, WT(YLC)F? How can she still stand behind the tone-deaf fundamentalist propaganda she penned as a youngster, seldom pausing to let her readers in on the ways she's grown since then? Gretchen herself has likely moved on to some extent intellectually and spiritually; I'm perfectly willing to believe that. But if she has—and if she's unwilling to share much of significance about that journey with her impressionable, mostly young readers—she's doing them a disservice. Part of the value of writing clearly and well is that you can communicate genuine personal struggles and hard-won, non-obvious truths to your intended audience. Gretchen seems to have opted out of that (admittedly, considerable) challenge and gone mostly for the mommy blogger equivalent of small talk.

Oh hello! I do believe I have been summoned by my own personal bat-signal.

I think I would feel more annoyed at Gretchen's lack of public self-reflection, as you've outlined above, if my most dominant emotion when reading Gretchen's blog these days wasn't complete boredom. Seriously, to rebrand yourself, you've got to have your own content! Since coming down with a chronic case of Ann Voskamp-itis, it's like she's abandoned the idea of writing about her life and her opinions in favour of writing spiritual fluff of the kind Voskamp has perfected. (along with other stuff like product reviews and how-to guides for internet marketing). The Voskamp-type entries follow this general outline: "I have vague and unspecified spiritual heartaches, but I will write comforting observations about the flowers and trees and fresh dark earth and shit, and top it off with a generous dash of purple prose. My readers will eat this up like it's cake!" I think Voskamp is the only internet writer to do this consistently well, but this is a hunch rather than an opinion gathered from a thorough knowledge of the author's work, since her writing drives me absolutely nuts.

As Lucy Snowe said above, Gretchen is actually a good writer, and I think she's only a really good and memorable writer when she's writing about her own experiences rather than the general fluff that's been on her blog lately (like the Connect piece, various kid product reviews and accounts of her rebranding, or most of the 5 minute friday emotional check-ins). It's quite something to entice a happily childless 29 year old (yours truly) to read a lengthy description of life with her three children, and find it adorable. I may think the dynamic between Gret and Merritt is a little messed up, but I still remember this one story she told about how she and Merritt used to be cute newlyweds and ask each other, "can you believe we're married?" all the time, to underscore the amazingness of being a married couple. When Ruth was born and on one night they found themselves awake with a wailing baby, Gret asked Merritt, "Can you believe we're really married?" And Merritt was like, "Yes. Yes I really can." Hilarious, right?

I may have disagreed with her ideas about how to be a good wife, but they were hilarious to read, from her accounts of finally finding a movie she could let Merritt watch without covering his eyes with her hands (that movie would be Fireproof, of course), to her re-post of a 1917 housewife's guide which recommended the wife read and then parrot the daily news to her husband over the dinner table, as it would be more useful to him than silly wifely gossip.

In short, I don't care what she calls her blog, whether it's "diary of sad mad married woman" or Gretchen Louise (yawn); I care more about the content specific to her own life. I don't expect Gretchen to be evolved enough to break with her target demographic of those aspiring to perfect submissive wife-dom and publicly question what she's preached for years (even if Ashleigh's been doing it for awhile), but I would enjoy it if she'd put something of herself back into her blog, even if it's to state opinions I don't agree with. Maybe Merritt put the kibosh on stories related to him after she called him out for not letting her wear a certain unspecified trendy accessory?

[silvia]

Seriously, to rebrand yourself, you've got to have your own content! Since coming down with a chronic case of Ann Voskamp-itis, it's like she's abandoned the idea of writing about her life and her opinions in favour of writing spiritual fluff of the kind Voskamp has perfected. (along with other stuff like product reviews and how-to guides for internet marketing). The Voskamp-type entries follow this general outline: "I have vague and unspecified spiritual heartaches, but I will write comforting observations about the flowers and trees and fresh dark earth and shit, and top it off with a generous dash of purple prose. My readers will eat this up like it's cake!"

This is spot-on regarding Voskamp and her many breathless followers. I completely agree that Gretchen's best writing is the personal stuff that's anchored in reality, not this airy-fairy Voskamp-inspired fluff. I'm certainly not asking that Gretchen air what she considers "dirty laundry"--far from it. But I do think her blog would generate a lot more interest if she told more colorful stories from her life and reflected more honestly about what she's learning from her experiences and the mistakes she's made along the way. That wouldn't necessarily require alienating her SAHD/SAHM/submissive followers, but if Gretchen's own inner journey leads her to break from fundamentalist dogma from time to time, I hope she doesn't shrink back. Truth is more important than keeping all your readers happy.

Side note: If Gretchen or others close to her are reading, I hope what I'm writing here doesn't come across as an outright slam. I really think Gretchen is quite intelligent, and, as others here have mentioned, an able writer. But when you put yourself out there on the Internet as a teen/ young twentysomething promoting some very black-and-white, extremist views, I feel like it's important to honestly evaluate your relationship to those views later on--as Natalie and Ashleigh have both done to varying degrees--to avoid unintentionally leading people astray. That's why I'm pushing for a little more transparency along these lines--and given her talents, I think Gretchen has the opportunity to produce some of her finest writing yet if she takes up the challenge.

I know it's been discussed before - and articulated by someone who was on some very good cough medicine! - that the YLCF founders all went on to rather different lives than what they were supposed to have (Gretchen by far being the closest to that ideal), but that YLCF still clings to the same ideals. That bugs me more than Gretchen Louise's own blog, because it's more of a 'here's me and my life' account, whereas YLCF's supposed to inspire and motivate and all that. If they don't want to discuss abortion, fine, but at least explain that you don't get the perfect life just because you don't screw the guy before the ceremony.

I see what you're saying about the different purposes of Gretchen's blogs, but now that Gretchen is all about having a consistent internet persona (that's what the rebranding thing was supposed to be about, right?), I feel like it's a bit unfair of her to compartmentalize her two blog lives, since supposedly a lot of her real life is based on the principles promoted so tirelessly on YLCF (and let's face it, a lot of her personal blog readers probably find her through YLCF, too). We know all about the SAHD YLCF Gretchen of yore, but we know relatively little about how (or whether) she has changed in the intervening years, since she's much less personally forthcoming these days. In terms of what she really stands for and her relationship to her highly legalistic upbringing, the reinvented "Gretchen Louise" is something of a cipher.

[wtylcf]

Side note: If Gretchen or others close to her are reading, I hope what I'm writing here doesn't come across as an outright slam. I really think Gretchen is quite intelligent, and, as others here have mentioned, an able writer. But when you put yourself out there on the Internet as a teen/ young twentysomething promoting some very black-and-white, extremist views, I feel like it's important to honestly evaluate your relationship to those views later on to avoid unintentionally leading people astray. That's why I'm pushing for a little more transparency along these lines--and given her talents, I think Gretchen has the opportunity to produce some of her finest writing yet if she takes up the challenge.

[ ... ]

I see what you're saying about the different purposes of Gretchen's blogs, but now that Gretchen is all about having a consistent internet persona (that's what the rebranding thing was supposed to be about, right?), I feel like it's a bit unfair of her to compartmentalize her two blog lives, since supposedly a lot of her real life is based on the principles promoted so tirelessly on YLCF (and let's face it, a lot of her personal blog readers probably find her through YLCF, too). We know all about the SAHD YLCF Gretchen of yore, but we know relatively little about how (or whether) she has changed in the intervening years, since she's much less personally forthcoming these days. In terms of what she really stands for and her relationship to her highly legalistic upbringing, the reinvented "Gretchen Louise" is something of a cipher.

Between us Free Jinger malcontents, I think we've identified some legitimate reasons for Gretchen to reconsider her blog content. The first is that the onus is on her to provide an honest account of her life and her own spiritual journey, for the sake of the beliefs she espouses. If she were to find out that what she'd preached was dishonest or wrong, it would be deceptive and "un-Christ-like" of her to continue promoting it, or to simply not discuss it in favour or writing more fluffy pieces.

The second is that she's talented at writing about her own experiences to entice readers from many walks of life, and there is expressed discontent with the change in content on her blog from all of us critical readers. I mean, not that any of us were unabashed Gretchen fans before, but if I were a fundie blogess, I'd rather hear critique of blog content than critique that my blog lacks content.

The third, which I will posit somewhat cynically, is that the point of a branding exercise is to tailor content to what will sell your brand, and without that content, all the branding exercises in the world won't save that brand. The marketing ought to be the invisible machine driving the blog and you don't need to discuss it if that discussion is not catering to the reader's interests. There's a reason that super-mommy-bloggers like Dooce or the Pioneer Woman don't discuss their marketing strategies too much on their blogs - it's because that would drive a wedge between blogger and reader and get in the way of content in which the reader is truly invested, which is stories from their own lives.

What do Gret's core demographic expect? Historically they've expected a glimpse into her own life and opinions first; and secondly, her role promoting her lifestyle as a young married fundie and submissive wife. I wrote before that I don't expect Gretchen to be self-aware enough to embrace total honesty in regards to her personal life, because she probably feared it might hurt her brand. However, upon reflection, I think that she doesn't realize that backing away from personal content is hurting her brand, because her life is her brand. It would be entirely possible to write about her experiences in a reflective way that doesn't air all her family's dirty laundry, even to reconsider her past beliefs in light of her current beliefs, if they have changed. That, in my opinion, would bring her closer to her historically-established brand than the new, less personal content, which I don't find interesting in the least. It would also cater to her strengths as a confessional writer. And heck, if she loses some readers who don't like what she says, she'll probably gain some new ones who do.

[silvia]

Between us Free Jinger malcontents, I think we've identified some legitimate reasons for Gretchen to reconsider her blog content. The first is that the onus is on her to provide an honest account of her life and her own spiritual journey, for the sake of the beliefs she espouses. If she were to find out that what she'd preached was dishonest or wrong, it would be deceptive and "un-Christ-like" of her to continue promoting it, or to simply not discuss it in favour or writing more fluffy pieces....

What do Gret's core demographic expect? Historically they've expected a glimpse into her own life and opinions first; and secondly, her role promoting her lifestyle as a young married fundie and submissive wife. I wrote before that I don't expect Gretchen to be self-aware enough to embrace total honesty in regards to her personal life, because she probably feared it might hurt her brand. However, upon reflection, I think that she doesn't realize that backing away from personal content is hurting her brand, because her life is her brand. It would be entirely possible to write about her experiences in a reflective way that doesn't air all her family's dirty laundry, even to reconsider her past beliefs in light of her current beliefs, if they have changed. That, in my opinion, would bring her closer to her historically-established brand than the new, less personal content, which I don't find interesting in the least. It would also cater to her strengths as a confessional writer. And heck, if she loses some readers who don't like what she says, she'll probably gain some new ones who do.

Yeah, to me, this is the heart of the matter. Gretchen's lack of forthrightness is not only a brand killer, it also hints at a kind of pride--is she afraid to admit when she was wrong? If so, isn't that verboten according to Christian doctrine?

[guidedbybobafett]

The Voskamp-type entries follow this general outline: "I have vague and unspecified spiritual heartaches, but I will write comforting observations about the flowers and trees and fresh dark earth and shit, and top it off with a generous dash of purple prose. My readers will eat this up like it's cake!" I think Voskamp is the only internet writer to do this consistently well

Ugh, I do not agree with you there! However, I also think there isn't really a way to do this "well". I think a minute or two of reading Voskamp's drivel is enough to successfully recreate what she's writing, because she isn't writing anything of substance. "Fresh, dark earth" is a perfect example: you can tell it means little or nothing, but is pretty easy to spit out on demand if you have the desire to be overwrought and pretend at pseudo-literary spirituality.

She really grates on me like no other.

[erunerune]

Things I want to know about Gretchen, not that I'm ever going to have my idle curiosity satisfied:

1. Why was she "allowed" to go to a blogging conference after her headship had previously informed her that his wife didn't do that stuff?

2. Remember the long-ago Natalie thread where Ashleigh posted, in an, uh, un-Voskamp-like fashion? She defended Gretchen & further ganged up on Natalie (this is my opinion). So much drama, but GL did not join the fray. Wonder what was going thru her mind, not that she owes me an explanation duh :)

3. How does she reconcile the many (vastly smug and/or ignorant) statements she has made in the past regarding gender roles/politics/parenting/any other subject with whatever changes her views have undergone over the years? I concur w/everyone else that she is very intelligent and is well aware that the internet is forever, so you would think she would want to clarify changes/progressions in her values & worldview over time.

4. Her kid sis is likely heading off to college soon, and her younger brother was an academic rock star at Patrick Henry. I'm guessing there are maybe more "what ifs?" in her thoughts than a comparable non-fundie who pursued more individual interests before settling down on the farm.

Just to clarify, I've got no problem with someone choosing to settle down on a farm, and clearly she's only ever going to share whatever fits her (currently muddled) agenda for her online presence. Her worldview has never been very nuanced, so if she's murkier now than she has been in the past it would be interesting to read about that journey, yes?

I will echo that this is not a slam on GL (the smugness/ignorance that tends to crop up in her past writing is just a fact people), only my wonderings as someone fascinated by the YLCF crowd over the years. I'm going to go snort some unicorns now and wait for the answers I will never receive.

[wtylcf]

Ugh, I do not agree with you there! However, I also think there isn't really a way to do this "well". I think a minute or two of reading Voskamp's drivel is enough to successfully recreate what she's writing, because she isn't writing anything of substance. "Fresh, dark earth" is a perfect example: you can tell it means little or nothing, but is pretty easy to spit out on demand if you have the desire to be overwrought and pretend at pseudo-literary spirituality.

She really grates on me like no other.

This analysis made me laugh - it explains why her writing drives me up the wall so very accurately! I do not enjoy Ann Voskamp myself, but am willing to concede that people evidently enjoy her brand of tortured spirituality with literary pretensions, given her hordes of devotees. And there's room for exactly one of her on the internet. She's laughing all the way to the bank with her new book. I just wish her fans would stop doing imitations of her writing all over the internet. I can avoid the original, but I find it hard to avoid the tributes in writing by the genteel hordes of ladies who would be the next Voskamp.

[silvia]

Things I want to know about Gretchen, not that I'm ever going to have my idle curiosity satisfied:

1. Why was she "allowed" to go to a blogging conference after her headship had previously informed her that his wife didn't do that stuff?

2. Remember the long-ago Natalie thread where Ashleigh posted, in an, uh, un-Voskamp-like fashion? She defended Gretchen & further ganged up on Natalie (this is my opinion). So much drama, but GL did not join the fray. Wonder what was going thru her mind, not that she owes me an explanation duh :)

3. How does she reconcile the many (vastly smug and/or ignorant) statements she has made in the past regarding gender roles/politics/parenting/any other subject with whatever changes her views have undergone over the years? I concur w/everyone else that she is very intelligent and is well aware that the internet is forever, so you would think she would want to clarify changes/progressions in her values & worldview over time.

4. Her kid sis is likely heading off to college soon, and her younger brother was an academic rock star at Patrick Henry. I'm guessing there are maybe more "what ifs?" in her thoughts than a comparable non-fundie who pursued more individual interests before settling down on the farm.

Just to clarify, I've got no problem with someone choosing to settle down on a farm, and clearly she's only ever going to share whatever fits her (currently muddled) agenda for her online presence. Her worldview has never been very nuanced, so if she's murkier now than she has been in the past it would be interesting to read about that journey, yes?

I will echo that this is not a slam on GL (the smugness/ignorance that tends to crop up in her past writing is just a fact people), only my wonderings as someone fascinated by the YLCF crowd over the years. I'm going to go snort some unicorns now and wait for the answers I will never receive.

I remember the Ashleigh drive-by! I think she was trying to convey that there were aspects to the Natalie-being-booted drama that we didn't understand (although she was unwilling to reveal what those were), but she ended up insinuating that Natalie was mentally ill and couldn't be trusted. (To be fair, I think she did later regret the foot-in-mouth moment and apologized.)

Seconded on #3, above. It's as if Gretchen thinks that as long as she doesn't bring up her past embarrassing views, people will forget they existed. Which is nonsensical, but maybe she'd rather take the Fifth than disavow her past statements and risk alienating the more legalistic YLCF readers?

Gretchen's whole family fascinates me: Her younger sister and oldest brother are both very smart, just like she is, but they also seem to be just as sold-out to legalistic Christian doctrine, judging from their limited online footprint. Other fundamentalist-climber parents probably wish they could bottle whatever the Glasers are dishing out and distribute it to their kids with dinner. ;)

[meda]

I remember the Ashleigh drive-by! I think she was trying to convey that there were aspects to the Natalie-being-booted drama that we didn't understand (although she was unwilling to reveal what those were), but she ended up insinuating that Natalie was mentally ill and couldn't be trusted. (To be fair, I think she did later regret the foot-in-mouth moment and apologized.)

Nah, the only thing she regretted was flashing ass here and letting the "sweet" mask drop. She and I exchanged a few pm's after her appearance, and she continued to insinuate that Natalie was unstable and a liar, and that she was in the right to come and set the record straight. I also got a "god bless" or 2.

[bea]

Ooooh, my gateway fundies!

I wish Gretchen would talk about how her views may have evolved, how it's easy to be a teenager and imagine how you're going to have the perfect husband and run your house just right and your kids will always be clean and happy and everything is just going to be SO WONDERFUL, and even easy to believe that this is not going to be all that hard, once you get married. And even maybe once you have a baby. But three kids under four and being married to a farmer when the country is in the midst of a drought is not going to be all roses.

And there's been hints of that - when she found out she was pregnant with #3, there was some desperation that came through the posts, about how they were going to fit three carseats in the car they had, how they were going to afford this, etc. And I had hopes.....I really hoped that Gretchen was going to write about how her life NOW is different than what she thought it was going to be like, how real life is always harder than a fantasy life, and how easy it is to be seduced by promises of obedient children and perfect homes and wonderful marriages if you just follow the formula that the fundies provide.

The redesign of YLCF is dreadful, IMHO, and her own site not much better. I know those graphics are designed so that people can "pin" the articles on Pinterest, but UGH. And while she's bright and not a bad writer, she doesn't have anything of substance to say. Hell, even most of the mommybloggers I read write about something more than feeling overwhelmed and burdened and maybe a little resentful, and they write more than trite, tired little sermonettes about how God is going to make this all work.

I get the sense that while Gretchen's life may be okay, she's watching reality bitch-slap a whole bunch of people who followed the formula. Natalie, for one, even if her disastrous marriage to Mr. Bigamist was her own fault for not "courting" first. Ashleigh, who seems to be finding her voice and finding her SELF and who had to manage on her own with two little boys while her husband was deloyed. Sara Sophia, who wasn't so much a fundie, but who was Twitter buddies with Gretchen and went to Paris with Ashleigh, whose blog sort of went dark after they got back from Paris and has just had a few posts since about pain and misery (I'm assuming her husband left her and the four kids). I think it's harder and harder for Gretchen to stay in the bubble that she lived in during her teen years and early married life - she's being exposed to a lot more people who are suffering and broken through no fault of their own, and maybe realizing that the only difference between herself and those people is luck.

Anyway, sad to say, I don't read YLCF much, and I skim Gretchen's blog, mostly because her kids are cute and I like the pictures. I'll be interested to see what she does with her "brand," if she's planning to sponsor things or what.

[Sister Mozz]

I just have to say that I love all the lengthy analyzing going on. This is one of the reasons I love reading FJ. I don't have that much of an opinion to add, because like bea, I mostly skim just to see pictures and hope to find a real life update.

You know, I wonder if she'll regret writing in such vague terms in the future. We can't see how many outlets she has to honestly work through her feelings, but if this is all there is when she looks back in 10-20 years, it might be disappointing. Or maybe she stuffs all her honest feelings and doesn't deal with them, which is how Voskamp reads to me. It's not a virtue to bottle up your emotions and "keep sweet". That just means you'll have longer to de-program when the time comes.

[silvia]

I remember the Ashleigh drive-by! I think she was trying to convey that there were aspects to the Natalie-being-booted drama that we didn't understand (although she was unwilling to reveal what those were), but she ended up insinuating that Natalie was mentally ill and couldn't be trusted. (To be fair, I think she did later regret the foot-in-mouth moment and apologized.)

Nah, the only thing she regretted was flashing ass here and letting the "sweet" mask drop. She and I exchanged a few pm's after her appearance, and she continued to insinuate that Natalie was unstable and a liar, and that she was in the right to come and set the record straight. I also got a "god bless" or 2.

Heh. Why am I not surprised? :-/

[hoipolloi]

Good analyses, all.

YLCF is moribund if not dead. The redesign has done nothing for the website and the writing is hackneyed & uninspired -- even compelling subjects seem boring or irrelevant. I've checked out some of the blogs or websites of the various YLCF contributors and they're not much better.

As for the transformation from Merrit's Gret to Gretchen Louise, if it's more than just "re-branding" what's the purpose? What is anyone -- YLCF fangirlz, other mommy bloggers, FJers -- supposed to get from the new look? I too would be more impressed if the re-branding came with a big dose of honest writing & open retrospection.

[silvia]

I suspect that blogging conference Merritt allowed her to attend not only gave her social marketing skills, but helped open her eyes to other outlooks of, you know, having an identity that are still compatible with being a farmer's wife. Real life has a way of doing that....

Right, and this is exactly the kind of stuff I hope Gretchen will start writing about! With someone as sharp as Gretchen, you just KNOW the wheels in her head are spinning overtime when she goes to Relevant--a gathering of independent, successful businesswomen, many of whom have completely different worldviews than the one she was raised with even if they all share the surface label "Christian." The more sheltered and rules-bound your upbringing, the more you have a chance to grow, change, and question your assumptions at an event like this. (And heck, maybe this is part of the reason Merritt didn't want her to go to one of these conferences in the first place.)

But do we get any sense of this kind of introspection and self-questioning in Gretchen's blog posts after she returned from the conference? Nope. Just snapshots of her with various attendees and a list of the 10 things her Relevant roommates now know about her. It's disappointing, because I sense she's capable of much more. (And it's not like I'm looking for her to reach any particular conclusions in her thinking; I just want to get a sense of how she actually processes an event like this, how she reconciles new and broadening experiences with strict mental programming that was laid down years ago.)

[Kate]

Thanks for the new topic.

While searching for the kissing picture earlier, I came across this post. gretchenlouise.com/2009/02/pictures-and-frames/ That was in February. Natalie "remarried" in April was scrubbed off YLCF by May. I wonder if Gretchen still keeps this picture around?

I remember reading that when Natalie posted, but there are a ton of things from Natalie on the site now. I'm hoping that means there's been some reconciliation, but who knows?

As for the rebranding, it seems like a smart move from the standpoint of integrating an online presence, but I'm not getting where that goes with assuming she's had a major change of heart or anything, to me it just seems like a marketing move, probably a good idea she got at the conference, not a sign of something deeper in her marriage or anything (but I also agree, I'd be a lot more interested in hearing here be real no matter what that is that the lightweight stuff she mostly puts up now).

[LucySnowe]

A few random thoughts:

I was checking FJ in the hours when I couldn't sleep (sigh) and realised, hang on, I first heard about Gretchen when she was leaving Livejournal to marry her farmer. What was her username? - oh, right, gretchenlouise. (There's nothing on the site except two lines about marrying but here''s the link: http://gretchenlouise.livejournal.com/) I presume the fact that she's not tying the Livejournal into her new media empire is yet another sign that LJ is going down the tubes....

I just noticed this on the personal rebranding entry (bolding is mine):

But I came up with a compromise short enough even for Twitter and a nice Segway from my previous MerrittsGret: GretLouise.

*sigh* Gretchen Louise, I JUST held you up as a paragon of intellect compared to the SOTDRT crowd, and yet you go and do this. Here: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/segue

She's very up on Trina Holden (http://trinaholden.com/), but considering that Trina has fewer than 400 Twitter followers, I am not sure I would use her as a model of social networking. I mean, I have around the same number of followers, but I generally have to blow the cobwebs off my Twitter account before I can use it; I am not posting blog entries on how to market a self-published book.

[bea]

Quick note to say that I went over to her page and she seems to be trying to move away from the JESUSJESUSJESUS thing (http: //gretchenlouise.com/about/mommy-blogger/) at least in design, if not in content, and I figured out what she's doing - she's positioning herself as a social media/networking guru. Her subtitle for the Mommy Blogger page? "Social Media Hints and Technical Tips for the Mommy Blogger." She's got separate sections for Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and Branding. Branding! Which she's just learning to do, apparently, but why wait to proclaim yourself an expert on something until you've actually done it successfully, amirite? I'm sure we all remember her tendency to know everything before she actually does any of it, like breastfeeding and parenting and marriage.

At least she's finally admitted that she works - even if she puts it in a cutesy way and says it's just something she does in her spare time to earn "a bit of money." My ass. There's a reason she's putting such an effort into rebranding, and I don't think it's that she's got an excess amount of time with the three little kids and the farm and the in-laws store. I think she, like so many of the other stay-at-home wives and mothers, may have had a cold smack in the head from reality. Sometimes, no matter how Godly and submissive and obedient you are, the family won't make ends meet without another income.

Then she's got this tech section where she's writing very simplistic 101 info on how to use Twitter for business, etc. She's even embedded this feature where you can "click to tweet" some snippet of wisdom from her writings (the same sorts of things that appear on those awful Pinterest quote graphics on YLCF).

I wonder if she realizes there are nine bajillion people doing the same thing, and that being Head Girl of the YLCF doesn't make her an authority on anything other than the YLCF? Or that from a marketing (and, I imagine, hits-per-day) perspective, the redesign of the YLCF was a huge flop?

I don't think she's following Trina for advice; I think she's following Trina to do what Trina does.

[LucySnowe]

Quick note to say that I went over to her page and she seems to be trying to move away from the JESUSJESUSJESUS thing (http: //gretchenlouise.com/about/mommy-blogger/) at least in design, if not in content, and I figured out what she's doing - she's positioning herself as a social media/networking guru.

Well I wish she'd run back to that position as fast as her legs-clung-to-by-three-little-ones can take her, because this week's exciting theme is... doing the laundry. :roll:

But then my work schedule changed, and I had to change my housework schedule along with it. Now I’m working away from home on most of the days that I used to do laundry.

Is this the helping-in-the-antique-shop work, or other work?

[flojo]

Well I wish she'd run back to that position as fast as her legs-clung-to-by-three-little-ones can take her, because this week's exciting theme is... doing the laundry. :roll:

Is this the helping-in-the-antique-shop work, or other work?

She was never hugely interesting (Natalie and Ashleigh made YLCF readable), but she has become really, really boring.

ETA: 6 posts and a link party about laundry :O

[LucySnowe]

ETA: 6 posts and a link party about laundry :O

Gaah.

Right, here's my enthralling laundry story: I generally do a load around once a week, maybe two if the darks and whites are equally in need. I put in the things I absolutely must have (i.e. work clothes, socks/underwear when the clean ones are running low) and then I say to Mr Snowe, 'do you have anything that needs to be washed?' Which he usually does because all of his not-clean clothes live on the floor and get reworn in some kind of mystical cycle of 'how dirty is this' that I have never understood. If the towels/sheets/bathroom mat/tea towels are looking kind of gross I'll do a service wash.

Afterwards, because we don't have a drier, I hang the laundry on one or both of our free-standing drying racks. Sheets or big towels get thrown over the bedroom door.

The laundry usually stays on the racks until a) Mr Snowe has picked off all the clean stuff, worn each piece once, and returned it to the floordrobe, or b) I get sick of having the racks taking up so much space. The stuff over the bedroom door occasionally gets folded and shoved in the closet, but not often.

I am practically falling asleep just typing this.

Admittedly, I did like hanging out my laundry when I lived in a place where that was possible. And I do get that with a farm-based life and three small kids you probably have to have some kind of system so you don't go insane (or naked). But...yeah.

[bea]

I suspect the media guru plan may suffer from the fact that she's about as interesting as a box of rocks.

[silvia]

I was wondering if anyone else had seen the laundry posts--yeah, they were kinda soporific. Not really sure where she's going, rhapsodizing about the joys of hanging clothes out in the sun and wind...? It's not a topic readers are likely to get excited about more than once, if that. Maybe it's an "I am so domestic; therefore I'm meeting/exceeding the expectations my religious subculture has placed on me" thing? Hard to say. We're certainly not getting a candid glimpse of her thoughts about life, but maybe there's a reason she doesn't want to share those thoughts anymore.