Editioneditionweekendbulk Rate U.S
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
MILWAUKEE COMMUNITY JOURNAL FAMILYFAMILY NEWS & VIEWS ON: VOL. XXXIV NO. 38 MARCH 10, 2017 50 CENTS PARENTING, RELATIONSHIPS, WEEKENDEDITIONEDITIONWEEKENDBULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN PERMIT 4668 TIMETIMESENIORS, YOUTH/EDUCATION The McClure twins Black millennial moms and the pressures of raising picture-perfect tots By Victoria Graham, article courtesy of tool for social promotion. ing up the process of connecting likes with self-esteem and This all changed when Instagram was created in the fall monetary value. thegrio.om| posted on March 2, 2017 of 2010. Instagram’s simple interface, few restrictions, and Parents must be able to separate, and at appropriate emphasis on still shots made it the perfect platform for self- ages, explain to their children the many layers of social By now, almost everyone has promotion. Now those same novice social media users who media from casual user to brand influencer and everything heard of the adorable McClure would not have thought of creating a YouTube channel, or in between. attending a casting call, jumped at the opportunity to join Children are not the only ones affected by all the likes twins, the identical twin sisters Instagram. and double taps. Increasingly parents are feeling more con- Turn to Instagram now, and there thousands, if not mil- scious and subconscious pressure to present themselves who captured our hearts about lions, of pages dedicated to promoting aspiring child mod- in ‘picture perfect’ fashion. New moms are especially prone three months ago in a viral video. els, actors, athletes, etc. to social media anxiety. The adorable girls are in matching outfits down to their All are managed by their parents, who carefully craft pic- It’s not hard to see why. Instagram generally only pres- Banku knot hairstyles as they react to the shocking revela- tures and portraits, with just the right amount of candid ents the best of a moment, event, person, or family. tion that while they were born on the same day, one is, nat- shots to tell a story of a happy and thriving child. The desire Blowout diapers, tantrums in grocery stores, and working urally, older than the other. to become Instafamous reaches all the way to newborn ba- 12-hour shifts are typically not Instagram’s top trending Fast forward to TV appearances, endorsement deals, bies. photos. Yet, that is the reality many parents face on a daily and hundreds of thousands subscribers and followers later The rise of the momager (and dadager) is real. basis. – the McClure twins are what social media dreams are Yet, much like every other social media platform, Insta- For black parents, especially those of the woke variety, made of. gram doesn’t get the benefit of escaping the ills of main- there may actually be even more pressure to prove your The McClure twins, whose public accounts are run ex- stream culture. Facebook is currently combating fake news, “Black is Beautiful.” The desire to provide adequate social clusively by their parents, are a part of a growing new trend Twitter has bullies, Snapchat increases risky behavior, and media representation must be balanced with proper expec- of parents positioning their children for social viewing Instagram perpetuates dominant mainstream standards of tations of your audience or followers’ behaviors. and/or promotion. beauty and reinforces narrowly defined cultural norms. Even casual social media users must navigate in a world Prior to social media, parents who wanted to promote As cute as the McClure twins are, they benefit from col- where the Joneses are not a neighborhood or local com- their child’s likeness had to work with modeling agencies orism and natural hair bias. Scroll a few popular children’s munity, but an entire global network – virtually connected to negotiate and ultimately book print or TV opportunities. hashtags on Instagram, and themes quickly start to emerge through statuses, pictures, and 140 characters. Naturally, this process limits the pool of available children, about the ‘type’ of black kids that receive the most likes. There is nothing wrong with social promotion, social especially children of color, who are willing to endure this They are often light to medium brown skin with 3C or 4A media entrepreneurship, or even positioning your children lengthy and expensive process. curly hair patterns. In fact, there are entire Instagram pages or yourself to earn money for their likeness. America per- YouTube was among the first platforms to really chal- and hashtags dedicated to biracial kids, often with one of fected capitalism for a reason. lenge the conventional path to stardom. Now anyone the races being black. Searches for the top Insta-kids often However, for every #melaninkids post or picture you see, around the world could create a channel and audience. Yet, yield black kids that fit the aforementioned depictions. double tap, or scroll past, there are real and implied impli- YouTube does have its limitations. The selective appropriation of what is desirable within cations and assumptions being made about the content Crafting a YouTube video worth public consumption takes and outside the Instagram community can have a major im- and yourself. time. From ideation and execution of filming to edits, the pact on the actual kids in the pictures and the parents who process could take days or even weeks. manage their pages and lives off of social media. Victoria Graham is a Houston-based urban education Also, the path to going viral is much harder on a platform Aside from offering flawed perceptions of reality, kids are advocate by day, and Blackish Mom by night. When like YouTube because it is clustered with movies, music starting to connect self-worth with their social media like- she is not empowering families to become advocates videos, educational tools, and thousands of channels on ness. The more likes they receive, the more favorable they for their students’ academic success, she is writing at topics from children’s games to cooking, to DIY projects. view themselves and their abilities. The Blackish Mom blog, providing an authentic voice While opportunities widened under YouTube, there were Parents who create social media accounts for their ba- for Black millennial moms. Join the conversation on still barriers that kept more novice parents from utilizing the bies and young kids could, if not communicated, be speed- Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The Weekend Edition/Family Time March 10, 2017 Page 2 While the “A Day Without Similarly, one person wrote on a Woman” strike has been Alexandria City Public Schools’s “While many Facebook page, “This last-minute applauded by many as a decision does a disservice to any- school districts feminist statement, it has one in a family where both parents one drawback that many work full-time. What does ACPS closed to allow women are criticizing: expect those families to do about teachers and staff school closures are putting child care with such little notice? It also does a disservice to working to participate in parents in a bind as to what women outside of ACPS, who now to do with their children. may be forced to stay home with the strike, some While many school districts their children.” closed to allow teachers and staff The complaints are part of a of the closures to participate in the strike, some of broader problem that the strike the closures were last minute. For has faced, with many complaining were last minute. example, Prince George’s County of elitism, as only those who can Public Schools in Maryland didn’t afford to participate can do so. For example, tell parents about the closures However, others felt that the in- until Tuesday night. convenience was the whole point Prince George’s “This is absolutely infuriating of the strike. County Public ‘A Day Without a and uncalled for. Who gets pun- “Way to go Teachers! The whole ished here? The students. Espe- point is to make people realize Schools in Mary- Woman’ strike puts cially those students who rely on what an inconvenience it is when the schools for food during the Women don’t show up. You are land didn’t tell day. And never mind the fact that doing a brave and great thing. some parents in bind you’ve inconvenienced parents Thank you. (From a parent who is parents about the who now have to scramble for facing said inconvenience!)” said daycare at the last possible closures until amid school closures a parent on the Facebook page of By thegrio | posted March 8 minute,” one person said on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district’s Facebook’s page. in North Carolina Tuesday night.” AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR, WINTRELL PITTMAN, RELEASES THE FIRST OF 10 BOOKS IN HIS "CHILDREN OF THE WORLD" SERIES In Loving Memory Quality Service... Nationwide (BlackNew.com) -- a tenured tradition Wintrell Pittman has published sincere concern at your time of need. the first book in his series called Children of the World. Mr. Offering pre-need, at need and Pittman is the author, illustrator after-care services to families in and C.E.O. of W.R.P.'S Publica- Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha tions (2017). and other communities The Children of the World logo is a likeness of the world being throughout our state. held up by different colored hands. Margaret Broom Per Mr. Pittman the different Earnestine O’Bee-Founder Age 91 yrs. March 1, 2017. Funeral services J.C. Frazier, colored hands represent the vari- Gray, Phyllis will be held on Friday, March 10, 2017 at 12 Funeral Director ous races and peoples of the Age 59 yrs. March 2, 2017. Funeral services Noon at St. Mark AME Church 1616 W.