Lifestyle brand Listen B*tch’s newly launched campaign is redefining and revolutionizing the narrative surrounding motherhood.
‘Mom Puberty’ is all about helping new moms embrace the journey of motherhood without the pressure to conform to societal standards of bounce-back culture.
HOLR is diving into the specifics of the brand’s latest campaign and chatting with founders, Michelle and Daniela, to learn all about how Listen B*tch continues to remind us who the f*ck we are.
What is Listen B*tch?
The lifestyle brand was started by two lifelong friends- Michelle and Daniela- who want to help people think more positively. As a result, the new ‘Mom Puberty’ campaign champions this notion in which the brand also offers inspiring affirmation cards as a tool to give people the extra push they need to get their sh*t together. The brand is constantly on a mission to find ways to help its audience be their own cheerleader- all by reminding them who the f*ck they are.
Listen B*tch New Campaign: ‘Mom Puberty’
‘Mom Puberty’ is the brand’s latest inspirational campaign, which recently launched on May 2, and aims to help new moms embrace motherhood. The vibrant campaign fosters connectivity and is centered around a series of impactful billboards- which are situated across Toronto- as well as a digital gallery available at Cry Baby Gallery. The newest campaign launch also coincides with the brand’s two new affirmation card deck drops, the Pregnancy Edition and New Mom Edition, which were crafted to help empower moms.
The brand’s striking billboard images advocate for mothers to take back their postpartum experiences while the digital gallery offers a raw and unfiltered glance at postpartum imagery featuring photos by Toronto-based photographer and mom, Jorian Charlton.
So- what do these iconic billboards say, exactly?
The ‘Mom Puberty’ campaign billboards feature bold messaging located throughout Toronto, such as; “Embrace Your Mom Bod,” “Normalize Mom Puberty,” and “You Are More Than a Bounce Back.” The main goal of these billboards is to spark conversations, challenge stereotypes, and foster a supportive community for mothers navigating the complexities of parenthood.
When it comes to the brand’s new affirmation card deck launches, here’s what you need to know:
Pregnancy Edition Affirmation Card Deck ($24.99) – This is a go-to companion for keeping it real, staying positive, and having a good laugh while embarking on the wonderfully terrifying journey of pregnancy. The deck includes 10 birth affirmations to help push through the final stretch!
New Mom Edition Affirmation Card Deck ($24.99) – Tackle the postpartum hustle with these daily affirmation cards to sprinkle some humor and motivation into a mom’s daily routine!
Both affirmation card decks can be purchased online at listenbitch.ca and Amazon.ca
Chatting with the Founders:
Founders Michelle and Daniela also took the time to chat with us about the brand and the new ‘Mom Puberty’ campaign.
Talk to us about how you started the brand.
We launched this brand in 2021 when we struggled to find self-care tools that resonated with us. The soft, coddling language we were seeing out in the self-care space just wasn’t working for us. So we decided to create something that would pair that positivity with a healthy dose of tough love. We started with our signature Listen B*tch Affirmation Card Deck which is a deck of 50 affirmations that are designed to “remind you who the f*ck you are”. They speak to you the way a close friend would if they were shaking you by your shoulders and trying to remind you how incredible you are. Yes, the language they use is occasionally a bit spicy, but that’s what makes the affirmations land with conviction. It’s not just about reciting positive affirmations; it’s about feeling the words deep in your bones, letting them ignite a fire within you. The signature deck is now one of the best-selling affirmation card decks in North America.
What can you tell us about the latest ‘Mom Puberty’ campaign and how it redefines the narrative surrounding motherhood?
Too often the cultural messaging new mothers get isn’t to rest and recover but to ‘snap back’ into the bodies and behaviors they had before getting pregnant. Not only is this message unrealistic and toxic, but, dangerous, as well. That’s why we’re on a mission to shift the narrative from bouncing back to normalizing and creating a conversation around the complex changes moms go through. And to make it stick in people’s mouths we’ve given this period of time a catchy name – Mom Puberty.
In our research, we came across the term, ‘Matresence’. It’s a term that was coined by medical anthropologist Dana Raphae back in the 70s and it refers to the multi-faceted process of becoming a mother, which includes physical, hormonal, psychological, emotional, and social transformations.
The word matresence sounds a lot like adolescence because it’s very similar. “Matresence” is a really powerful word but it doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. So we decided to call it ‘Mom Puberty’ instead. It’s a simple and easier way to talk about this transformative period of time. We wanted to give women a term that they could instantly understand, relate to, and hopefully discuss.
We firmly believe that it’s far more productive for society to be talking about Matresence than it is to be talking about “bouncing back”. Our goal with this project is to normalize the experience of “mom puberty” for women by acknowledging and discussing the complexity of it – the good, the bad, and the ugly. By openly addressing these shared experiences, new moms can feel less isolated in their struggles. Giving a name to this often chaotic period of transition can help new moms understand and navigate it more effectively and can help reduce some of the stigma surrounding the difficulties of parenting. Our goal with this campaign is to encourage conversations about both the positive and challenging aspects of motherhood, reassuring current mothers that their experiences are normal and providing future mothers with insight and tools to navigate the transition.
We’re also doing this because there’s a large and frankly dangerous knowledge gap surrounding the transition into motherhood. A lot of women are unaware of the extent of the physical recovery and many are unaware of the mental, social, and even existential challenges that come along with it. Many find themselves “blindsided” by these changes. We’re hoping this campaign helps close that knowledge gap by getting women talking about what motherhood actually entails. We strongly believe that knowledge is power and that women can better prepare themselves for this transformation if they’re aware that it’s coming. Our hope is to create a complete shift in the narrative with this campaign. If we spark even one productive or informative conversation, we’ll know we’ve done our jobs.
Tell us all about the billboards and how they ultimately aim to spark conversations, challenge stereotypes, and foster a supportive community for mothers.
On our billboards, you’ll see postpartum moms at different stages with statements representing the duality of Mom Puberty. The reality is that some of the changes new moms experience are remarkable and awe-inspiring while others are really tough. Our hope is that these billboards can either educate, uplift, or create conversation. We also strategically chose some locations that were near hospitals with large maternity wards, so that this would be some of the main messaging new moms would be seeing when they first left or came to the hospital. So far we’ve witnessed Canadians walk by and simply just ask the question “What is mom puberty?” Even getting people to ask the question to start the conversation is a big win for us.
Your affirmation cards are revolutionary- what can you tell us about the New Mom and Pregnancy Edition Affirmations?
About a year and a half ago, we decided to launch two new affirmation card decks – one designed for Pregnant Women and one designed for New Moms. These were some of the most requested products from our customers. Neither of us are mothers so it was very important to us to do our homework and educate ourselves about the realities of women going through this life stage. To help our research, we interviewed countless women about their experiences with pregnancy and motherhood. Our goal was to get insights to develop a product that would be relevant and actually speak to them. One of the most eye-opening – and frankly disturbing – things we heard time and time again was how toxic and damaging the messaging women were receiving postpartum and that’s how this whole campaign started. Both our New Mom and Pregnancy Edition Affirmation cards come with the same sass and energy as our signature affirmation deck. You can find them on Amazon, Etsy, and our website.
Lastly, here are some other things we’d love to share about the campaign:
Working with real moms across Canada: For this campaign, we captured portraits of Canadian moms from all walks of life and who had varying experiences with motherhood. For example, we have Queeny who just gave birth to her first child and who sees Mom Puberty as an act of adding layers onto your old self. And then we have Janice who’s done this twice now but is still figuring out how to navigate the awkward shifts in her social relationships that came after the birth of her children. And we have Leslie who’s 4 years postpartum but who is still dealing with some of the physical ramifications of childbirth. And Kylie, who’s navigating postpartum anxiety and body image challenges. Just like adolescent puberty, Mom Puberty has looked different for each of these women and it was important to us to capture that breadth.
On the photography: It was also important to us to work with a photographer who could inherently understand the nature of the program. We worked with Jorian Charlton, a Toronto-based photographer and mom of two. Jorian’s work has been featured at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Art Gallery of Mississauga, and the critically acclaimed exhibition – The New Black Vanguard.
Giving back: We’re also donating copies of their New Mom and Pregnancy Affirmation Card Decks to support groups at Sunnybrook and North York General Hospital, as a way to provide tangible support and encouragement to women navigating the complexities of motherhood.
If you’re interested in learning more about Listen B*tch or the brand’s new ‘Mom Puberty’ campaign, be sure to check out the official website here.
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Published by HOLR Magazine
Image Credits: Listen B*tch