Multiracial Mommy Blogging: Multiracial Family Narrative Construction in Online Spaces

• In Event: 1554 - Parenthood

Abstract

“Mommy blogs” have been recognized as a medium through which mothers challenge dominant
representations of motherhood in our society, create community with other mothers, and seek out
advice. I extend this work by analyzing how a niche of bloggers—mothers of multiracial
children—construct narratives about their multiracial families online spaces and the intended or
perceived goals behind their blogging. I do so by analyzing the rhetoric, content, and structure of
multiracial mommy blogs from 2013 to 2018. I find that multiracial mommy bloggers use the
blogosphere to speak primarily to white audiences and often apply hypodescent to their
children. I discuss how narratives differ by the race of the blogger and how hypodescent may be more a reflection of the U.S. racial structure than the racial ideologies of parents.

Author

• Chandra Reyna, University of Maryland, College Park