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Unless you live under a rock, you probably know who Ballerina Farms is. The idyllic family with 8 free range kiddos living on their family farm in Utah. Hannah, the wife, mom and face of the brand has taken the world by storm lately, but not all in a positive light. In this episode I am addressing the controversy that is Ballerina Farms and my thoughts on it.

 

Who Is Ballerina Farms?

 

I would probably guess that you already know who Ballerina Farms is. But just in case you don’t…. Hannah is the face of the brand. She is a former Julliard Ballerina. And now runs the family ranch alongside her husband Daniel in Utah. They have turned their ranch and their business into a HUGE empire. Selling their meat across the nation, sourdough and sourdough starter, kitchen gadgets, apparel, and much more. If you follow Ballerina farms you have likely noticed the simplicity of their content. Very minimal videos and photos, simple editing, and casually cozy. The family’s home is very basic considering they are likely rolling in the dough (no pun intended) and they have 8 children that run around free range.

 

The Controversy

 

People seem to think this family is trying to give off the illusion of being poor. Their home is nothing extravagant, and Hannah dresses very basic. It has also been said that her and her husband are romanticizing farming and homesteading. And that it’s not as easy as they make it look. My thoughts on this vary. I am someone in this industry and yes I understand that a lot of hard work goes into it. And does Ballerina Farms show every bit of it? No. But who does on Social Media? You have the opportunity to share maybe a 1 minute clip here and there. And maybe it’s their brand to just show the pretty stuff and that’s ok. If some city person comes along and thinks it looks easy… who really cares? I also think Hannah does a good job at showing the fact that they do have employees and a support team. Ballerina Farms has photographers come in, and they have people packaging their items for them. So it’s not like she is trying to pretend they do everything on their own.

While much of their content is pretty and embellished, I do think they do a good job at showing the other stuff too. And honestly, I love the pretty side of their content. Hannah literally will be dancing around her kitchen doing Ballet and it’s so feminine and beautiful and I love it.

 

Ranch Mom turned Pageant Queen

 

There has been a recent controversy that really got people up in arms. A little over a month ago, Hannah gave birth to her 8th child. And within a week postpartum, she was getting ready to be in the Mrs Universe pageant. The world might as well have exploded when she announced this because everyone lost their minds. Hannah was very transparent about the whole experience on social media. Showing that she brought her new baby with her to the pageant and had someone with her at all times. So why have people been so upset about all this?

Other moms are shaming Hannah of Ballerina Farms for jumping into something so big so quickly after giving birth. For not allowing herself time to “heal”. They said she is giving unrealistic expectations for new moms and what their postpartum experience should be like. Essentially, Hannah being absolutely beautiful and living up to society’s beauty standards especially so quickly after giving birth is toxic for other women to watch.

Hannah has had 8 children. I think she is very well aware of how her body heals and what postpartum is like for herself. If your experience after having a baby is wanting to lay in bed for a month straight, by all means do that. But don’t shame her for wanting to still go after her dream. Especially when she CLEARLY was well and able to do so. It also should be noted that perhaps why her postpartum recoveries are so easy is because she is an athlete. She works out at the gym consistently, she’s a dancer, she’s out working on the farm. It’s not like she was eating like garbage and sitting around her whole pregnancy. When you take care of yourself, it’s going to make recovery from anything a lot faster.

 

More Real Women In Pageants Please

 

Never in my life have I considered doing a beauty pageant. However, I love that someone like Hannah is. And that she holds the current title of Mrs American. I think now more than ever we need people like her to be the face of what an American woman is and should aspire to be. A wife, a mother, a homemaker, successful business owner. Simple living and simple beauty. She’s traditional and poise, and religious. It’s all just so perfect. We need more of that and less of this other toxic garbage being poured into young girls these days.

 

What we can learn from Ballerina Farms in our businesses

 

• Just post the content. Ballerina Farms content is simple, no filters, no heavy editing. No trending sounds.
• Not everything needs to be relatable ALL the time. There is nothing wrong with romanticizing things
  • In other words: don’t worry about being sensitive to every person from every kind of background
  • Content should feel good to you, and your people will find you. Not everyone is going to love everything you post all the time

 

In Conclusion

 

As someone who is currently pregnant with a daughter, I can honestly say that the “unrealistic” content I would want my daughter to watch would be Ballerina Farms over the Kardashians any day. I hope my daughter grows up aspiring to be a traditional women, chasing dreams, building a business, but valuing home life. I hope she wants to be a wife and have kids and above all else loves the Lord. Ballerina Farms is truly iconic, and will have my support any day.

 

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