“Girls, be whoever you want to be.” This motto from Xiaoyu Lin (Mumu) on Little Red Book encapsulates her life philosophy. Transitioning from a math major to a leading influencer with over 2 million followers, she blends personal vision with empowering messages of female strength.
By Eric Jiang
Before becoming an influencer, Xiaoyu Lin – affectionately known as Mumu – was an undergraduate student of mathematics at Emory University. She recalls with a smile the reason for choosing the mathematics major: “at that time, our school didn’t offer any fashion or design-related majors. As someone who has been excelling in the sciences since an early age, it was logical for me to choose mathematics and economics.” Despite her study focus, Mumu never stopped loving fashion and often shared her outfit inspirations after school, ultimately paving the way for her transformation into a self-employed influencer.
Upon graduation, Mumu decided to return to her native China, and after a three-month internship at a bank, she became serious about influencing as a career. “I‘ve discovered that my personality is all about enjoying freedom and not being bound by constraints; I cannot stand the days of conformity because I love challenges and want to move at my own pace to overcome them.” The road wasn’t easy, however: she tried to launch a Taobao shop (the equivalent of Amazon in the West), and realised after just a few months that she wasn’t cut out for ecommerce. She immediately shut down the shop and returned to what she does the best, creating content.
Although she started dedicating her energies to Weibo and Little Red Book (two Chinese social media platforms,) she had a rough time generating substances for her channels. Mumu admits, “When I first got involved in content, I had no idea what to post.” She tried to share photographs of her travels, but her data performance was never consistent. The turnaround came in the second half of 2020, when she had signed the contract with a multi-channel network influencer marketing agency. With their help, she progressively learnt that she could plan systematically well in advance to allow a disciplined flow of content.
Nevertheless, the manner in which the agency had operated was not entirely compatible with Mumu’s creative ethos. She was required by the agency to publish a substantial amount of beauty and skincare related engagements in order to receive more commercial announcements. While this strategy has brought in considerable traffic and streams of income, it is acknowledged that such efforts proved to be extremely tedious for Mumu and went against her very intention to create and share: “I figured this wasn’t what I wanted, and I’d feel disorientated if I were to post too much.” As a result, she determinedly took the plunge into terminating her contract and returning to run her channels independently.
After breaking away from the stranglehold imposed by the agency, Mumu became thoughtful about what she genuinely desired to deliver. She slowly became aware that her followers, more than anything else, were eager to acquire a sense of spiritual strength from her, a positive approach to life. Consequently, Mumu embarked more often on expressing her life philosophies and aspired values in her channels.
“I’m all for encouraging people to be themselves and go after what they want in life,” Mumu says. She believes that feminine autonomy is not just about being financially independent, but also about being mindfully liberated and emotionally mature. In her Little Red Book, she frequently features contemplations on various phases of her life, which range from moving away from unhealthy relationships to establishing a sensible as well as articulate plan for living. In the recent two years, Mumu has been concentrating on the discussion of two themes: women’s growth and self-worth.
One of Mumu’s most watched vlogs, which garnered 73,000 likes and 39,000 favourites, addressed the development of a strong sense with self-worth through 6 ways, by which she touched it upon the fact that in order to achieve this goal, a person should be disciplined over time in terms of exercising, eating, and sleeping, shine in areas of competence, possess problem-solving skills, be unaffected by emotions, remain focused on the present moment, and continue to learn.
Many of her fans resonated with her, one of whom, Yin, says, “As women, we should cultivate those elements where no one is looking, and finally emerge in the eyes of all.” Another fan, by the name of Ling, tells me, ”I really listened carefully. I think that people who lack self-confidence subconsciously tell themselves, ‘I can’t do it, I’m not capable.’ Mumu has taught me to fake confidence, to act like a confident person, and to affirm my own value. She’s really amazing!” With what Mumu calls “a series of Girls’ Talks”, she hopes to help her followers navigate the paths they’re on: “Through my own experiences and reflections, I want to show girls not to be tied down by their current circumstances and backgrounds, and that they are perfectly capable of being whoever they want to be.”
Mumu describes how she advocates for her followers to become “clear-headed women” who possess the unencumbered power and fearlessness to be independent of others, regardless of whether it is in the family, the workplace, or in their love lives. “The strength of women lies not in surpassing men, but in gaining equal rights and respect.” She continues that every woman should have the privilege of pursuing a dream of her own and that she should not be pigeonholed by gender and social roles. Aside from that, she mentions, many women have a tendency to have lost themselves during periods such as marriage and parenting, which manifests itself in pouring all their time and efforts into their families at the expense of the quest for their personal fulfillment. “You can be a mother, a wife, but first and foremost, you are yourself. You need to fulfill your own needs before considering the demands of other personas,” Mumu concludes.
“As her fan, I am deeply impressed by her sharing that no matter what stage of life we are in, we should never give up our aspirations. She constantly reminds us that doing what we love and persevering in what we believe in is of paramount importance, and that we shouldn’t lose our bearings even if there are as many choices and sacrifices as we face between our families and careers,” Ling says.
Being an influencer, Mumu’s wardrobe has been the centre for attention; in contrast to many of her counterparts where luxury is the predominant theme and trends are sought after, she, however, puts more emphasis not only on the originality with which she embraces her personal style, but also on the rationality with which she approaches with her consumption. “When I was younger, I blindly followed trends, chasing after those so-called ‘bestsellers’. But over time, I gradually realised that popularity doesn’t equate beauty, nor does it necessarily suit me.”
By referring to herself as“an urban minimalist” – Mumu adds – she is defining a kind of intellectual sophistication that never goes out of style, even in the context of daily commuting. “My wardrobe is filled with a lot of neutral-toned clothes. I think they suit me well because my skin is on the fair side.” As soon as autumn and winter roll around, her preference is to wear all grey; The key, she continues to tell me, “lies in layering different shades of grey along with other low-saturation colours.” It’s normally around this time of year that Mumu’s fans ask her for styling recommendations, to which she invariably responds with her usual, “I’m really good at layering oversized silhouettes to achieve a relaxed feel. Whether it’s a long coat, paired with a sweater and wide-leg trousers, or a blazer with fleece leggings, I can effortlessly pull off that distinct style that’s uniquely mine. I also love adding metallic or silver jewelry to elevate with a bit of flair.”
In a post-pandemic society where the Chinese economy is debilitating as everyone appears to be engaged in a spending downgrade, Mumu’s take on this may have provided an extra dimension of cogitation when I asked her on techniques deployed in her areas of expenditure. “One principle I’ve always adhered to is that while consumption can be downgraded according to the broader environment, the quality of my own life must never be downgraded,” she says to me, meanwhile once again offering her magic number, 6. This time, she’s bringing her own 6 tips on how to be a sensible consumer:
- Responsible spending is crucial to ensure that one avoids impulse buying on low-quality items.
- It’s not necessary to have a plethora of things, the trick is to choose those that do suit the needs and that will last for a long time, which translates into a decent amount of savings.
- High price doesn’t equal high quality, and one can find many good value-for-money items with careful selection. Branded goods can be considered, but quality shouldn’t be jeopardised for the sake of big names.
- Items should be used to their fullest potential; only by holding onto and using them long-term can they truly pay off.
- Reduce online purchases to refrain from pointless spending.
And the last tip comes from Mumu, referring to the previous one, “with the same amount of money, I would rather spend it on travel, experiences, and broadening my horizons, because these are the kinds of memories and lessons that become lifelong treasures.” Mumu posted similar opinions on Little Red Book and confessed that it had sparked quite a bit of controversy. “I personally wouldn’t agree with the kind of spending she’s suggesting. The last two tips are only relevant for people with a certain level of financial stability and may not be applicable to most ordinary people like myself,” Ling told me as I was going over the details Mumu had passed on to me. In response, Mumu doesn’t shy away from it; she believes that, “views on consumption are inherently personal. It’s unrealistic for me to expect everyone to share my perspective. What I hope to do by sharing is to help my fans discover what works for them, rather than just following the crowd.”
Today, when short videos have become mainstream in Chinese society, Mumu remains committed to producing full-length vlogs. “The pace of short videos is too fast; many people no longer have the patience to watch a complete story,” she recognises. Although her vlogging statistics aren’t as impressive as those of short videos by her peers, she still hopes to persist with this form of content creation, to let her fans know that, life shouldn’t be about just pursuing efficiency and speed; sometimes, there’s more of the beauty around us to be observed in slowing down.
There are no exaggerated storylines or dazzling special effects in Mumu’s vlogs; apart from her personal insights into the different facets of life, she also recounts snippets of her travels, and heartwarming interactions with her family and friends. These everyday moments make up her authentic and purposeful life. “Life is composed of countless little moments, and when you learn to cherish them, happiness will subtly come your way.”
Where there is cheering and support, there will also be questioning and ridicule. Whenever confronted with external pressures and negative judgements, Mumu says, sharing an interesting tidbit, “I don’t really like reading those comments that criticise me, but I won’t choose to avoid them, so I have my friend read them out loud for me. He reads them in a funny way, and I just refute them one by one. Once that’s done, it’s all over.” Surely, it’s uncomfortable to be scolded, but remaining unfazed by hostile voices is a profound affirmation of her own self-worth. At the end of the day, she puts, “the core of creation is to express myself, not catering to the masses.”
For her current state in life and work, Mumu gives herself a score of 70 as she feels there’s still much more she needs to live up to. “How to find balance between the two is the direction I’ve been striving forwards.” She hopes that in the years to come, she will turn into a “shining” person: “I aspire to be a more influential figure in the area of female empowerment, allowing more people to get to know me.”
As the interview wraps up, Mumu has to get back to average influencer things: editing the latest material for it to go live the next day, brainstorming ideas, and writing content for future vlogs. I hope that when we meet next time, she will have become whoever she wants to be, just as her motto on Little Red Book suggests.
