Originally published at: Blogger Heather Armstrong has passed away | Boing Boing
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Oh no, just heartbreaking. 
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That’s really sad. I’m really sad.
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Very sad. In 2015 when she walked away from being the Queen of the Mommy Bloggers, she gave a powerful talk about why:
(note: the phrase “hairy vaginas” figures prominently in this talk, which may be NSFW for some, especially if you work at a certain clothing brand…)
This should be required viewing for anybody who wants to be an “influencer”, particularly those who would involve their kids in their work.
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I rarely get upset over the deaths of celebrities, but I feel like I knew Heather personally after reading her blog for 20+ years. Sadly, her family now join those of us who know the pain of losing a loved one to addiction and depression. My heart goes out to them.
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This really is awful. I’m not a fan of the whole mommy blogging genre but nobody deserves this. She was really successful also, with book deals, product lines, and all sort of other businesses. It goes to show that financial success can not fix emotional struggles.
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Very surprised at all the reverence been heaped on her here and on other similar blogs/sites given her raging anti-trans views.
Oh really? I was not aware of her views on that. Well, that sucks. 
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Nor was I.
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I’m very sorry to hear that. Her blog was one of the first that I read and posted to. Haven’t been there in a long time but I remember her stories of postpartum depression and growing up as a Mormon. Oh, and her story on fray.com named “Making Leta”.
It’s being disappeared down the memory hole of influencer worship but here’s a good explainer:
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Here’s the original, in case anyone wants to read it for themselves.
https://web.archive.org/web/20220811174146/https://dooce.com/2022/08/10/america-is-wrong/
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Very difficult to read. I’m sorry for her, and for her kids.
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This reads like the way a former friend’s writing devolved when, late in life, she started developing paranoid thinking about her peers and lost mental-health equanimity.
I read this as the mental illness speaking, not the actual Armstrong.
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I made it about a quarter of the way through and had to stop. So much lonely hatred flung at a page. My morning has already been tricky.
Yep.
Deep breath. Gonna hug everyone in my weird family a little extra today.
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It’s both.
She can have very bigoted thoughts and still be someone who is suffering. Please don’t separate people from their hateful actions, it devalues the trauma those actions cause to others AND doesn’t allow the people with their hateful actions a chance to repent for causing the trauma.
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I’m not so sure. I’m not going to hold her responsible for this screed the same way that I would someone whose brain chemistry were more fully functional. Which is not the same as saying she gets let off the hook for it entirely either.
My wife is trans, and has worked with trans kids realizing who they are. I grew up in a part of the country as an LGBTQIA+ person where friends were told outright that if they were gay, they’d be murdered by their parents. If this person was as influential as it sounds like she was, that post has kid’s blood on it.
Please don’t excuse it. Please.
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Ugh. Thanks for sharing this. I appreciate knowing it, even though it sucks.
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I read that whole thing and wish I hadn’t. That was some straight up ignorant bullshit.
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