Do Cake Bitches rule the internet?

So you wanna be a cake bitch?

When is it OK to give your opinion?

And when is it better to zip the lip?

And no…I’m not lecturing anyone…it has become a serious subject, and if we are not careful we will damage the community we love. We may already have done so!

The internet is AMAZING! Fact! Communication has been revolutionised, and whereas we used to wait for the newspapers to come out, we now have instant information and opinion at our fingertips.

The internet has made us all into writers/columnists/commentators/critics….and most importantly…editors!

Yup….people can do all of the above easily….but they sometimes forget to edit themselves. EDITING! The most important bit!

So what deserves negativity…and what doesn’t?

Well obviously, I deal in the cake world, which is artistic and creative. Sure, we can like art and we can dislike art, and we can discuss it.

If you are paid for your work, if you play on your professionalism, if you put your work out there to be admired, then you also have to accept negative opinions if they come your way. Right?

And trust me, they will. I can put out an image that may be praised by thousands…THOUSANDS..but it may still get a negative comment. Get used to it. Live with it! People have opinions and they aren’t always going to go your way.

But if you are a hobbyist, and the vast majority of cake makers are, then no…you don’t expect to be crucified for sharing your creations.

 

And that is the crux of it for me. Who is putting themselves out there as an artist…and who is putting themselves out there as hobbyists?

 

I have a MASSIVE problem with this…because my raison d’être within the cake community is to encourage everyone to have a go. EVERYONE! To make something with love. For fun! To share and to enjoy.

When I was a little girl I always used to buy my Mum birthday cards…because they looked nice, and were way better than anything I could make. But she always used to ask me to make one.

Make one? Yuk! I didn’t understand why! My cards were rubbish.

But I get it now…and I think you do too.

My sister makes cakes for her kids. She watches my videos and makes them herself. She doesn’t ask me to make them for her. Because she gets it too. It isn’t about me making a fabulous cake. It’s about her making a fun cake for her own kids!

And that is the attitude that I don’t want to lose because Cake-Bitches rule the internet.

So the Queen asked Nadiya to make a cake. A cake for a public walkabout where she was meeting people … REAL people.

Nadiya is not a cake decorator. She isn’t even a professional baker. She won an amateur competition and people love her. So if you see the cake she made and it isn’t your cup of tea…OF COURSE you can say that it isn’t your cup of tea. That’s your right. You have the freedom to do so. It’s part of the discussion.

But don’t do it as though Nadiya was a professional cake artist who messed up! She didn’t. She made what looked like a really tasty cake, (REALLY tasty!) and as an amateur attempt at cake decorating….it was a gazillion times better than my first attempts. Don’t believe me? Take a look at my Top Tips for beginners and you will see that I speaketh the truth my friends. Oh yes…I made some shockers!

See…there is a massive difference between a hobby cake and a professional one!

But there is nothing wrong with ANY of them!

And no, I am NOT saying that people should refrain from airing negative opinions. Negativity can be part of the artistic conversation. You can like something…you can dislike something. That’s fair enough. You can even say it. Of course you can! But you can say it politely and you can say it privately or in a forum that you consider appropriate.

And bear in mind that negativity that comes from WITHIN a community or profession, will more likely than not look like jealousy. Ain’t that the truth? Wouldn’t it be great if people were to think to themselves “Would I air this negative opinion if I was doing it to the person’s face?” And if so “How would I phrase it constructively?” or “Even if I think my opinion is valid, should I just keep it to private conversations?”

EDIT YOURSELVES PEOPLE!

Because as a community, unless we do that we run the real risk that we deter people from joining us. People are already intimidated, and they shouldn’t be.

Because we need to remember what cake is for. To make people smile. To bring people together. And as a community, if we make people believe that cake is for criticising then we lose the cake artists of the future and the hobby cake makers of today.

GET A GRIP PEOPLE! IT’S CAKE!

And one last thing…if I EVER see the phrase ‘It’s free speech, I can say what I want‘ attached to a negative comment on something I have shared…. I DELETE IT! So go for it! See where it gets ya! 😉

Here endeth the rant! 😉

 

If you are a beginner and want my top tips for beginners you’ll find them here: Cake Basics