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Why Everyone Hates Mommies

The stroller digs are symbolic of a deeper problem

By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 23, 2009 12:17 PM CST

(Newser) – “Helicopter moms,” “sanctimommies,” “stroller Nazis,” “breeders”—moms are getting a bad rap these days, but why? Yes, some aspects of mommy culture are ripe for mocking—the obsession with pregnant celebrities, the sham of Baby Einstein, the mothers who park “SUV-size” strollers next to their barstools, writes Lynn Harris for Salon. “But I still say that when it comes to mother bashing, there's more going on. Something deeper, more venomous, even more timeless.”

Class resentment is part of it—“the simple act of pushing a stroller down a gentrified street” screams, “I can afford one more bedroom than you can”—but the bottom line is that “Women—still—are not ‘supposed’ to take up space,” Harris writes. “We grow a belly, we need a seat, we say ‘excuse me, please,’ we speak up (or, God forbid, blog), and we've crossed the line, said or asked too much, become ‘entitled.’”

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The "stroller mafia" has a bad reputation these days. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, file)

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Yes, some people are obnoxious, and some of those people are mothers. Maybe sometimes, though, what's seen as 'entitlement' is just someone trying, in a given or perhaps even weakened moment, to get what she needs. - Lynn Harris

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 36 comments

JGirl

Nov 24, 2009 8:34 AM CST

to begin with you are putting a lot of words into my 'mouth'. I did not say no one should ever use the space, i did not say that i think that no pregnant woman should ever leave the house if they can't walk very far. i stated that if a pregnant woman cannot make it to the mall entrance from a regular spot she shouldn't be shopping all day long. ss for my personal activity level, you know nothing about it or how fit i am yet you make assumptive suggestions to me regarding it. You suggest a pregnant woman would actually accost me or anyone, which is ridiculous. You claim i said there should be no need for these spots, which i did not. i simply don't like the inconvenience, which is my right. I did not say if there was a health issue that the woman shouldn't be out in the first place. Whether i acknowledged there could be a need for this type of parking is irrelevant to anything in your 'argument' which isn't an argument at all. it is more the venting of a frustrated person who lacks the skills to argue her point effectively. my point was that there is no parking enforcement in place on that spot to determine whether the pregnant woman using it actually has a health issue or not. therefore, the spot is designated for ALL pregnant moms. i certainly was not trying to negate the fact that some women do have a difficult time in pregnancy.

Toon

Nov 24, 2009 8:23 AM CST

Thank God I don't live in suburbia, but why shouldn't people who may have high blood pressure, temporary diabetes, swollen feet, an aching back or other children in tow not be able to park a little closer to Target when shopping for school clothes or when going to buy some larger pants? And what the matter with you that you can walk a couple of extra yards on your way to shopping all day? Is the extraminute walking cutting into your shopping time?

Toon

Nov 24, 2009 8:14 AM CST

Its feminist to decide your own life's goals and to set your own path. If motherhood is your desire then you should have the power to say who cares what others are doing, I am doing this. Same as if a career is what you want. Though the more money you have the more this is an issue. working class women work and mother the best they can, more well to do women have the choice to only do one or the other.

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Why Everyone Hates Mommies