I’m here at BlogHer 11 in San Diego and my wardrobe for the event comes courtesy of Karina Dresses, an independent designer in Brooklyn, New York, who makes what I’ve disovered are the most travel-friendly dresses imaginable. I’ve never been able to get three dresses into a carry-on bag before, but these lightweight lovelies take up virtually no space and the best part is they simply refuse to wrinkle AT ALL. What a treat to be free of ironing my evening outfit. Here’s a picture of me as I arrive at the conference in one of the coveted garments, which goes from day to night with a simple switch to high heels.
Notice the Twizzlers backdrop? Food is a major theme here at BlogHer, especially CHOCOLATE. Dove ice-cream bars, brownies and chocolate-covered strawberries are just a few of the complimentary confections that help make break time sublime.
As usual, my Air Canada flight was delayed leaving Toronto, so I arrived in California late afternoon. The palm trees always surprise me and make me giddy, like I’m on a true vacation a la the Caribbean or Hawaai. Normal urban life seems so incongruous with the exotic greenery lining the highways and it never fails to move me and remind me I am indeed far from home.
My cab driver became agitated at a slow-moving tourist GoCar like this one
Out of curiosity I attended a seminar here entitled “Faith Bloggers”. Over the past year I have encountered a renewed sense of spirituality, so the name drew me in even though I blog about fashion. Other attendees expressed a similar interest combined with a sense of being reticent to write from a faith-based platform although they held those values dear in their personal lives.
Whether Jewish, Christian, Muslim or Shaman (yes, there was one of those), what these bloggers shared was a fear of alienating readers by vocalizing their beliefs about God. I must admit to feeling the same fear, but then recall the words of Gala Darling who said “Be Yourself. People won’t like you anyway.” If you talk about your faith publicly you will lose some readers, but you may gain more. And perhaps it’s not a popularity contest. One blogger noted that you could be depriving a reader who may be seeking spirituality by NOT expressing your views and that’s selfish.
Authenticity is the blogging buzz word and sharing one’s faith could come under that umbrella. However, there are bloggers like Sonia Simone of Copyblogger who say authenticity does not mean you reveal everything. And another blogger at this afternoon’s seminar asked “If you wouldn’t say it in real life why would you say it on your blog?” Yet another blogger, Christina from Windshield Rosary, mentioned that although her blog reveals her faith by its very title, she often does not even mention God: “Faith is your foundation even when you don’t write about it all the time.”
Would you be turned off by the mention of Faith/God in a blog?
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Lovely post!!! Looks like you’re having a blast at BlogHer!!
I definitely wouldn’t stop reading a blog because their faith is mentioned. I often mention that I am a Christian or went to church on my style blog and don’t know if it has caused me to lose readers, but I really don’t care.
Thank you, Lovely! So far the conference is amazing…and I just got here! Good attitude; it’s important to be true to yourself at all cost.
I wouldn’t be turned off if the post was “authentic”, meaning that the blogger was not trying to push their beliefs down my throat. I’m spiritual, not religious, however I always respects other peoples beliefs.
I think that’s why many write in a general way with words like “universe” and “source” so everyone can relate without using language specific to one religion.
I wouldnt be put off by a blogger mentioning their faith but if they regularly spoke about religion I would be put off especially if it was a fashion blog xx
Same here.
first of all, you look fabulous in your karina dresses! thanks for your support laura.
i wouldnt be put off by faith or spirituality, which are central to the human soul and beautiful in all manifestations. but i draw the line at preaching about a particular organized religion or, god forbid (no pun intended), proselytizing to gain converts.
love& blessings,
k
Thank you, Karina. Your dresses are amazing
I think authenticity requires an open communication of one’s faith- doesn’t mean I’d like to hear all about it, but I like people who truly represent themselves.
I can’t believe you’re in Cali! We are soooo close- well kinda. You look fab and make a perfect spokesmodel for Karina dresses!
I think that’s why a lot of people will write “universe” in reference to God. It’s more inclusive and still gets the point across. Loving Cali! Always have and don’t get here often enough!
It’s interesting that faith/religion/spirituality is the topic of your post because I just posted on the Higher Power concept from the 12 step programs.
http://www.becomingabetterwoman.com/2011/08/12-step-program-find-your-higher-power.html
I didn’t share my specific beliefs because I was afraid of turning off readers. Maybe I should have taken the plunge! I did have readers comment about how they view their Higher Power, though.
Yes, I know, I read that post and left a comment! I was more open about my beliefs in your comments section than I would be on my blog. Thank you for the opportunity to share.
First off… MMM TREATS!
Now that that’s out of the way — I definitely think there needs to be some boundaries in blogging but that people shouldn’t be afraid to express their beliefs. For example, I’m a vegetarian — but my blog does not center around vegetarianism so I don’t talk about it all of the time and I certainly don’t push my beliefs on others and tell them this is the way they should eat.
In the same vein, it would be unfair to everyone if someone didn’t mention their belief in a higher power, but unless the blog is specifically about faith, I don’t think it’s something that should be in every post.
Then again, to each her own! I started my blog for me, and I’ll blog about what I want to, and everyone else should too. Just my opinion on blogs that I choose to read.
I’m vegetarian, too! And I don’t talk about it much either. I find it becomes the focus of the conversation if you mention it so I choose to be quiet about it. I love that you say your started your blog for yourself and you’ll blog about what you like. That is a very courageous statement and action and you will inspire others to be true to themselves simply by being yourself.
Hi Laura, what a nice surprise to be quoted in your post. You made my day! I wish we would have had a chance to connect more at BlogHer. As it turns out, I was also at the beauty discussion, and Stephanie Nielson is seriously a personal hero of mine. Love her thoughts on beauty. Thought it was a great discussion. ~Christina
You added a lot of compelling comments to the discussion at the Faith Bloggers seminar so thank you for being there! Discovering Nie Nie was the highlight of the conference for me. Her thoughts on thinking more about others really resonated with me. I felt like she was the one on the panel who really “got it” and the only one who truly did strive to change the conversation around beauty. The others were saying the same things that have always been said. “Love your body.” Well, guess what, that doesn’t seem to be working. Maybe “forget about your body” is a better tact.
Such a pretty dress.
I love reading your blog and would definitely not be put off by mentions of faith. However it isn’t something I would ever feel comfortable discussing on my my own blog. I guess you should go with whatever feels right for you.
Thank you! You know I feel the same way about yours. Love the floral dress today.
I find it rather oft-putting that a country founded on religious freedom is as close minded to think “whoo hoo we even had a “Shaman” at our conference!
Spritiruality is a very personal relationship with the divine and there is no way anyone can tell you how to relate to the divine on a personal level. We each develop our own method that makes us feel most comforted.
With that said. I have no trouble with faith bloggers, as long as they don’t tell me my beliefs are wrong and insist on shoving their belief systems down my throat!
I’m not a country, I’m a person. I’m not closed-minded or open-minded, I’m honest-minded and that’s the truth of how I felt. Sorry it rubbed you the wrong way.
Oh thanks for writing about this topic! I’ve often struggled with sharing my faith on my blog, especially because tinytines is a fashion blog and I feel like most of my readers come for that reason. However, it’s undeniable that my faith is a huge part of who I am, so I shouldn’t purposely try to leave it off either. This post is really challenging me to dig deeper to see why I meet an imaginary roadblock every time I come close to mentioning my faith on my blog. Thank you for your insight, Laura.
You’re so right about this dress making you feel like a million bucks. It does all the right things for you and you look absolutely RADIANT.
Thank you for the compliment
And I like what you say about imaginary roadblocks because I do think these fears are in our heads much of the time and readers are much more accepting and tolerant than we might give them credit for.