Why folklore and Mary Kay?

When you hear the word "folklore," what comes to mind? Folktales about Paul Bunyan or Johnny Appleseed, urban legends about vanishing hitchhikers, fairy tales like Snow White, "old wives' tales" involving terrible-tasting concoctions to drink when you're sick, superstitions about black cats crossing in front of you or not walking under ladders. All that is definitely folklore. So are riddles, songs and games children learn on the playground from older kids, old family recipes, jokes, proverbs, folk crafts, personal narratives, and more.

What do all those things have in common with each other – and with Mary Kay – that makes them folklore? You don't learn folklore from school (although you might learn it at school) or from a book or from church; you learn it from other people. Your family, your friends, your social groups: you all exchange pieces of folklore and – importantly – create new folklore. You create your own culture that's individual to your own folk group.

When I was growing up, Santa Claus came in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve and left presents for my brothers and me around the tree unwrapped. If anything needed to be assembled, Santa assembled them for us. We also received wrapped presents from family members, but we always knew that Santa was going to bring something special in the night. I had serious problems with Santa leaving wrapped packages a week or two before Christmas at some of my friends' houses instead of making night visits! This is an example of how folk groups can express themselves differently.

Anyone who knows anything about Mary Kay knows that it's definitely a folk group with its own unique culture!

In April, I went to a weekly meeting with my friend Devon, who had just started her own Mary Kay business. I had used Mary Kay products before … 20 years ago – okay, I'd bought some mascara from Devon the week before. I'd certainly never been to a Mary Kay event before, so I didn't really know what to expect. I'm not sure I can compare it to anything I've been to before, either. We had motivational speakers come to AOL when I worked there – and we had motivational leaders; I love me some Steve Case! – but this was a room full of amazing enthusiasm and welcome.

On my drive home, I knew I had to learn more. At home, I regaled my partner with descriptions of the event – eleven diamond bee pins! – while he furrowed his brow, worried that I might turn into a Mary Kay lady. I developed a mini-obsession about discovering the difference between the lady who had to wear the blue jacket and black skirt and the lady who had to wear the black jacket and blue skirt.

A week later, I approached my folklore professor, Dr. Debra Lattanzi Shutika, and proposed this project. The culture of Mary Kay – more than just the meaning behind the pins or the black/blue, blue/black outfits – has a narrative behind it and within it, and consultants are making that narrative and culture evolve every day. I'm going to spend the next four months immersing myself in that culture to find that narrative, and I am super excited to be doing it!