If you have kids or if you're around the age where your friends are having kids, you may be familiar with the Facebook over-sharing that some parents engage in. Facebook has become a place to drop our little nuggets of wisdom, humorous musings, photos of our cats, and in the case of some parents, pictures of their kids' dirty diapers or the placenta from the birth. If you think those last two things are an exaggeration, either you don't have one of those Facebook-posting friends, or you haven't been to Blair Koenig's website STFU Parents.
STFU, Parents is a blog that re-posts screenshots of Facebook updates and photos submitted by readers who've come across an over-share or a bit of "mommy-jacking" (that's when a mother responds to a post with an off-topic comment related to parenting or their child). The site is generally dedicated to more obvious and extreme versions of these infractions. If a parent posts a picture of their child covered in poop, it probably has a decent shot of making it onto STFU, Parents. The blogger protects the privacy of the people whose posts are re-posted there by covering up the names and faces. She also posts her own two cents on each submission, explaining why it made the cut and weighing in on her issue with whatever was posted.
Since 2009, the STFU, Parents blogger remained anonymous, but she's appearing on The Ricki Lake Show today and has a book due out this spring, and according to The NY Post has officially revealed herself to be 30-year-old Blair Koenig. Here's a clip of her being interviewed by Ricki Lake…
The Post's article quotes a mom-of-two as saying the site is mean-spirited, and I can see the argument there based solely on the concept for the blog. There is definitely a certain measure of snark at STFU, Parents, but for those who've been exposed to the various kinds of posts featured on the site (among the categories, Mommy Jacking, Mama Drama, Sanctimommy, Spoiled Brats, Gross-Out Factor and Bathroom Behavior), the blog seems more about venting, mocking and joking (much in the way a stand-up comedian might) than it is about tearing people down. But to each their own.
She may have remained anonymous until now, but even before Koenig's identity was revealed - from what I've read of her posts in the past - her take on the social networking behavior of some parents never came off as particularly malicious or overly ranty (in the kind of way people rant when their name and face aren't exposed, anyway), nor have I ever gotten the impression that she dislikes kids or even parents… just some of the things they do, which puts her in the large percentage of humanity that has opinions about other people's behavior.
I don't think Emily Post had a chapter on Facebook etiquette, so we're all sort of learning as we go on this one. What one person might think is funny or a must-share, another person might find gross or annoying. Koenig's site may rub some people the wrong way, but then again, so do Facebook posts about a child's bowel movements.
Check out STFU, Parents here.
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