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Dec
17
I wouldn’t even have known that this show, Notes from the Underbelly, existed if not for this BlogHer post by Nordette, about it (it’s a great collection of views and reviews). It caught that BlogHer writer’s attention because one of the characters in the show keeps a mommy blog.
But the fatal flaw for me, included in the BlogHer post, is this note in Slate.com’s review of Notes:
Notes pits housewives against career gals and constrained fathers against liberated bachelors. It’s about the loss of identity, the accrual of responsibilities, the social rivalries among friends, and—what’s that in the Maclaren?—ah, yes, the baby. Coochie-coochie-coo.
O.M.G. The only war going on is between who the media listens to (supporters of the myth) and who they ignore (debunkers of the myth – who happen to be pretty powerful women, and mothers).
Where are those myth-supporters? I would like to meet one because none of the moms I know believe in the mommy wars anymore than the Tooth Fairy.
About the pharma ads: I don’t know if that’s true because I don’t watch enough television, but I’m thinking of all those “I just couldn’t do another load of laundry” ads for pills that should make women feel better. Have we really not come any farther than the Rolling Stones in 1965?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:56 am December 17th, 2007 in Culture, Media, Mental health, Parenting, Women
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2 Responses to “ABC perpetuates anxiety-creation, mommy wars myth-pharma ads increase too”
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I think the mommy wars, such as they are, are more of an undercurrent than overt offensive. We all pay lip service to the idea that we respect everyone’s choices etc…, but deep down, I suspect, we all have opinions.
And I have friends who refuse to join playgroups because of the mommy wars. So it does happen.
Or a thought, perhaps the nasty mommies, are just nasty people in general and it has nothing to do with motherhood???
M–also a Cleveland blogger
M – Thanks for reading and commenting
You raise good points. For sure, we try to be politically correct with one another, most of the time. And for sure many of us if not most of us harbor a little “grass is greener over there” sentiment. Maybe more than a little.
And I agree that the welcoming feeling one gets or doesn’t get within different groups of moms may derive from the differences in choices made.
I guess I just feel that much of the literature (i.e. media) that’s come out does more to foster and focus on the differences and divides than it does to foster and focus on the similarities, on the issues we could all speak to and improve or influence – that we should care about the situation for our own status as well as that of all moms, not only those whose decisions reflect our own. Not to mention, there’s often mobility between groups as we age, don’t you think?
I like that suggestion that a nasty mom is a nasty person, regardless of whether she has kids or works for that matter. We need a study with a control group.