Every time I hear someone complain about social media, or how they're quitting this platform or that because of "all the negativity," I can't help but think about all the ways that social platforms have literally saved moms. From blogs that share true, difficult stories about everything from postpartum depression to mental illness, to thew newest trend I love: celebrities getting real about motherhood.
Joining this last category: Comedian, YouTuber and Netflix Star Colleen Ballinger, probably better known to a lot of you as Miranda Sings. (AKA My daughter's school Halloween costume this past year. She does a pretty mean impression for an 11 year old.)
On Twitter this week, I was so grateful to see Colleen share a selfie, helpfully labeling each stain on her clothing and pointing out the moldy cups in her bathroom.
Most of all, I loved her not-snarky-at-all wish that "more people would show their reality instead of the most perfect version of themselves online." Yes to all that!i see a lot of moms online who portray a perfect, easy lifestyle. but this is a more realistic version of what motherhood looks like. i wish more people would show their reality instead of the most perfect version of themselves online. cuz the messy stuff is beautiful too.? pic.twitter.com/t81LzOhoJX
— Colleen Ballinger? (@ColleenB123) January 17, 2019
Related: 6 times celebrity moms clapped back at mommy shamers, and we all said hell yeah!
What's great to me is that the majority of her followers are teen girls and young women and (presumably) not moms just yet. Judging from the nearly 130,000 retweets and likes, and a grateful comment thread filled with (often hilarious) commiseration, maybe more girls will grow up knowing that most celebs require a whole lot of professional hair and makeup, a personal trainer, a home gym, and a wardrobe stylist help to look so "perfect" in new motherhood -- not to mention a high-level understanding of camera angles, lighting and uh, retouching apps.
Of course it's worth pointing out that a few of Colleen's new mom and baby photos on Instagram look pretty darn perfect to me. But I was grateful to read this one caption:
"I'm covered in barf, poop, and pee. i haven't slept in weeks. i don't remember the last time i showered. but this morning we found glitter on his butthole. and it's moments like those that make it all worth it.
Glitter on the butthole. Making new mom life easier since 2019.
Photos © Colleen Ballinger via @colleenb123 on Twitter
