Melani Sanders — the accidental founder of the viral “We Do Not Care” club, which sparked a full-on movement among her fellow perimenopausal, menopausal, and postmenopausal sistren — just got some major recognition for her unexpected rise.
More than six months after launching the movement (still to her utter disbelief), the social media creator and mother of three from West Palm Beach, Fla., has been named People magazine’s Creator of the Year.
“It’s a true sisterhood. I could never have dreamed this,” Sanders told the outlet of her now 2.1 million followers, which includes A-list fans like Halle Berry, Sharon Stone, and Ashley Judd.
Back in May, Sanders was mostly joking at first when she uploaded a “vulnerable” video explaining she was wearing a too-small bra — and did not care. From there, she invited her fellow grown and aging women to join her in shedding decades of emotional labor, perfectionism, and people-pleasing, whether that meant ordering in instead of cooking for their families, going on a grocery run with their bonnets, and beyond. The video spread like wildfire. Women flooded the comments, headlines rolled in, interviews followed, and suddenly the world couldn’t get enough.
“It resonated with so many women,” Sanders told Today in June. “It’s taken on a life of its own.”
She hasn’t just been calling out how emotional bandwidth shifts during “the change”; she’s also brought renewed visibility to how profoundly a woman’s body and identity evolve during this stage of life. The diversity of the movement has also demonstrated that the impact of this life phase is felt equally by all women, regardless of their race and social standing.
“It has made me realize that women are so much more alike than different,” Sanders told Woman’s World in September. “Going through perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause—and dealing with all the ups and downs at this stage of our lives—we’re all very similar and can relate to each other in so many ways.”
The momentum has been so strong that Sanders announced she’s writing a book, “The Official We Do Not Care Club Handbook,” out Jan. 16. She’s also partnered with Midi Health, a virtual care clinic specializing in perimenopause and menopause, and hopes to keep expanding her platform — even imagining in-person meetups for her growing community.
In the meantime, Sanders plans to keep delivering her weekly WDNC videos — often wearing multiple pairs of glasses (“because who cares?!”) while dropping her usual gems in her standard deadpan voice.
Speaking to People, she said she’s energized by everything unfolding around her.
“I just had to go through the tears, the fears, and say, ‘Melani, apparently this was meant for you.’ I just pray that as I move forward and share my stories, people see themselves in me, see that I’m just an everyday girl who decided to press record and be vulnerable. And look what happened!”
