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

[TrueRebel1]

Does anyone here follow Gretchen's pinterest and twitter?

All there is lately is "branding" info and tips. Really boring, and a little weird somehow.

For all these fundie or semi-fundie gals who proclaim the need for selflessness and humility and behind-the-scenes heroism, not to mention being set apart from the world, how and why the need to proclaim your name and "brand" it on every stinking thing possible?

Consider these nuggets:

Gretchen Louise â€@GretLouise 15h

"I'm using my name as a umbrella to cover anywhere my imagination may take me!" @VickiVLucas #personalbranding http://buff.ly/1d1GBoU

Gretchen Louise â€@GretLouise 18h

RT @TriciaGoyer: "I’m thankful I’ve branded my name because one tag line can’t encompass everything I do." http://buff.ly/1bqtg7M

Gretchen Louise â€@GretLouise 12 Aug

#PersonalBranding is an acknowledgement of His creation of me as a unique individual. http://buff.ly/13Maru2

Is "branding" going on in the non-Allume, non-mommy-blogger world too? I'm so illiterate about these things. All I know is this talk of "branding" seems so pompous and like they're trying way too hard to be cool.

[silvia]

Agreed, tr1. And what is so all-fired original about using your name as a brand, anyway? Isn't your name kind of your own personal 'brand' by default?

[bea]

Gretchen just needs to go to business school already so she can learn how to REALLY do this. She's just doing a half-assed job of kinda-business-blogging. One side or the other - turn it into a legit business, or just go back to musing about laundry.

[TrueRebel1]

Gretchen just needs to go to business school already so she can learn how to REALLY do this. She's just doing a half-assed job of kinda-business-blogging. One side or the other - turn it into a legit business, or just go back to musing about laundry.

Maybe that's what annoys me! I feel like she's a mommy blogger and her tweets and pins should be on kid's books, laundry, and curly hair care. Instead my feed is full of stuff that looks like it came from "A Dummy's Guide to Blogging".

[salex]

Does anyone here follow Gretchen's pinterest and twitter?

All there is lately is "branding" info and tips. Really boring, and a little weird somehow.

For all these fundie or semi-fundie gals who proclaim the need for selflessness and humility and behind-the-scenes heroism, not to mention being set apart from the world, how and why the need to proclaim your name and "brand" it on every stinking thing possible?

Consider these nuggets:

Is "branding" going on in the non-Allume, non-mommy-blogger world too? I'm so illiterate about these things. All I know is this talk of "branding" seems so pompous and like they're trying way too hard to be cool.

I've been in so many workshops on developing a personal brand and NONE of them suggested "Tell people you are developing a personal brand and xyz is your new personal brand" WTF, shouldn't the point be that people recognize you for attributes not that you tell them "these attributes are my personal brand".

[wtylcf]

I've been in so many workshops on developing a personal brand and NONE of them suggested "Tell people you are developing a personal brand and xyz is your new personal brand" WTF, shouldn't the point be that people recognize you for attributes not that you tell them "these attributes are my personal brand".

Couldn't agree more. I think I last harped on this summer, where I opined that Gretchen was making up for a lack of content on her blog by re-branding herself as a branding and blogging guru. It's so weird, to me, that her branding efforts are essentially becoming part of her brand itself - "Gretchen, the branding and internet-savvy fundie SAHM blogger who also writes about her home life!" is sort of her unofficial tagline. Usually the proof of the pudding is in the eating - that is, a successfully branded blog doesn't have to spend all its time talking about how to build a brand.

I don't find it very convincing, and I've become increasingly bored with her blog content over the past year. And I was already really bored with it last year. It seems that since she stopped writing about the weird put-downs she endures from Merritt, his bizzarre pickiness about her wardrobe, or about her sad struggles with feeling frumpy and overweight, there's just nothing to snark on anymore, as well as nothing to hold my interest. Newflash to Gretchen: if people aren't hate-reading you, they probably aren't reading you for fun, either. Y'know, not that I WANT to read gross stuff like the fact she's jealous of the attention her young daughter will receive from her husband (barf), but making your content so dull that nothing is worth reading is not a good solution.

[wtylcf]

Oh, I forgot; there's always vague-blogging as a substitution for content. Exhibit A:

But it’s when you look past my glasses and see the signs of tears that no amount of makeup can hide and ask, “How are you doing, honey?†when real relationship starts. It’s when you text me on Monday to find out how my week is going and are expecting a real reply.

Jesus H. Christ, Gretchen. That is almost akin to trolling your readers. You're implying you're showing up with a tear-stained face in church because REASONS, but it could be a flight of fictional fancy on your part intended to evoke sympathy and concern or paint a generalized portrait of someone going through a hard time that may or may not be you. Y'know, rather than admitting to any actual problems in your life and discussing them in a genuine way, you can always hide behind a facade of vagueness and the possibility that it's all just made up. I can't even.

ETA: I forgot about the part where she never really stopped blogging about feeling frumpy and overweight: gretchenlouise.com/smile-lines/

So it may be possible that she really WAS crying over not being able to find the right church outfit.

For my entire Gretchen-reading history (since about 2004), I've vacillated between feelings of rage at the ridiculous BS she often spouts, and feelings of sadness and sympathy for her self-image problems. We're almost the same age, and I find it so depressing that a 30-year-old woman lacks so much confidence in her appearance. I haven't had any kids in this period, while Gretchen has had three, and even so, my body has not stayed the same since age 20. That is perfectly normal, and while I objectively was probably more attractive at age 20 than age 30, I hate myself a lot less nowadays and feel more confident and attractive than I did then. Gretchen seems obsessed with comparing her past self (as a thin teenager) to her present self (as a mom of three also running a business on the side), and chastises herself for changing. Maybe part of the problem is that fundie-dom encourages traditional feminine beauty and considers it to increase one's value as a woman, while I feel no pressure to be traditionally feminine, and consider my appearance to be a matter of self-expression rather than a virtuous standard to which I must adhere.

Anyway, when I read crap like that, I just want to take her out for coffee and tell her good things about her appearance, encouraging her to focus on the things that make her feel attractive and confident rather than fretting about her shortcomings. She has young daughters, and it cannot be good for THEIR self-image that their mom cries in the car on the way to church because she's so down on her own appearance. I grew up with an ex-anorexic mom, and while she had a contentious relationship with food for my growing-up years, nothing she ever said about herself, or food, seems as objectively messed-up as the above anecdote.

[TrueRebel1]

Well said, wtylcf.

[erunerune]

Oh, I forgot; there's always vague-blogging as a substitution for content. Exhibit A:

Jesus H. Christ, Gretchen. That is almost akin to trolling your readers. You're implying you're showing up with a tear-stained face in church because REASONS, but it could be a flight of fictional fancy on your part intended to evoke sympathy and concern or paint a generalized portrait of someone going through a hard time that may or may not be you. Y'know, rather than admitting to any actual problems in your life and discussing them in a genuine way, you can always hide behind a facade of vagueness and the possibility that it's all just made up. I can't even.

ETA: I forgot about the part where she never really stopped blogging about feeling frumpy and overweight: gretchenlouise.com/smile-lines/

So it may be possible that she really WAS crying over not being able to find the right church outfit.

For my entire Gretchen-reading history (since about 2004), I've vacillated between feelings of rage at the ridiculous BS she often spouts, and feelings of sadness and sympathy for her self-image problems. We're almost the same age, and I find it so depressing that a 30-year-old woman lacks so much confidence in her appearance. I haven't had any kids in this period, while Gretchen has had three, and even so, my body has not stayed the same since age 20. That is perfectly normal, and while I objectively was probably more attractive at age 20 than age 30, I hate myself a lot less nowadays and feel more confident and attractive than I did then. Gretchen seems obsessed with comparing her past self (as a thin teenager) to her present self (as a mom of three also running a business on the side), and chastises herself for changing. Maybe part of the problem is that fundie-dom encourages traditional feminine beauty and considers it to increase one's value as a woman, while I feel no pressure to be traditionally feminine, and consider my appearance to be a matter of self-expression rather than a virtuous standard to which I must adhere.

Anyway, when I read crap like that, I just want to take her out for coffee and tell her good things about her appearance, encouraging her to focus on the things that make her feel attractive and confident rather than fretting about her shortcomings. She has young daughters, and it cannot be good for THEIR self-image that their mom cries in the car on the way to church because she's so down on her own appearance. I grew up with an ex-anorexic mom, and while she had a contentious relationship with food for my growing-up years, nothing she ever said about herself, or food, seems as objectively messed-up as the above anecdote.

I don't think Gretchen is ever going to tell anyone what's actually on her mind, either because she's got everything locked down so tightly she herself doesn't know, or it would take all of the airy-fairyness out of trolling her blog readers (good way of putting it, and so many fundie mommy bloggers do this as well). I don't even mean that in a snarky way.

[silvia]

I don't think Gretchen is ever going to tell anyone what's actually on her mind, either because she's got everything locked down so tightly she herself doesn't know, or it would take all of the airy-fairyness out of trolling her blog readers (good way of putting it, and so many fundie mommy bloggers do this as well). I don't even mean that in a snarky way.

Yes to all of this. It's sad to say, but Gretchen is sort of Exhibit A for how fundamentalism can warp someone's promise. She was a girl whose intelligence and drive could have propelled her to the Ivy League or somewhere similar. Instead, under the influence of her family and religious culture, she channeled that intelligence and drive almost exclusively into promoting a toxic, patriocentric worldview to other young women--and all this before the age of 25.

Now that she's older and realizes the lifestyle she so zealously espoused isn't all it's cracked up to be, I get the feeling she doesn't really know how to go about expressing her discontent without losing the credibility she's built as a Perky Christian Mommyblogger. So we get these oblique references to "tears no amount of makeup can hide" and the like. I'm glad there have not yet been any Baby Acheson #4 announcements; I think Gretchen has got enough on her plate, physically, mentally, and spiritually, as it is.