Why do we label each other?
Here is a list of labels we have for men who have kids:
- Dad
- Stay at home Dad
Now here is a list of labels we have for women who have kids:
- Alpha mom
- Baby-wearing mom
- Beta mom
- Bottle-feeding moms
- Breastfeeding moms
- Crunchy mom
- Granola mom
- Helicopter mom
- Slacker mom
- Soccer mom
- Stay-at-home mom
- Soggy mom (this one I first heard from @tzenaki81)
- Tiger mom
- Type A mom
- Type B mom
- Working mom
- Work at home mom
And I’m sure I’ve forgotten some…. Why do we have to slap those labels on ourselves?
No one is putting that label on us – we seem to be doing it to ourselves.
OK yes, we all tend to slap a label on each other – Sally is the domestic diva while Margaret is the powerhouse business woman.
But when it comes to parenting?
The stereotypes always seem to be the extremes. Some women may closely fit the descriptions and you might be wondering, where do you fit in?
If I have to slap a label on myself, I would say I’m neither Alpha nor Beta, helicopter nor slacker… so what does that make me?
The point is you don’t have to fit in anywhere.
I’m just a Mom who loves her kids and wants to raise them as best as I can. Motherhood isn’t a competition.
I just want my kids to grow up to be good, loving and empathetic people in society. My job is to help them get there.
Every so often you hear about the latest “mom war”. Why do we have to battle anyway? Women can be so catty and judgmental towards one another.
Why do we compare each other when instead we should be supporting each other? We finally have choices yet we still find ways to bash each other’s choices.
So why do we do it? We’re all guilty of it!
Perhaps we’re all just trying to find our way and fit in somewhere, feel a sense of belonging to a group – it’s simply human nature to want to feel accepted.
Maybe the labels keep happening because we are still talking about it, reinventing new names to label ourselves even further.
Let’s just stop with the labels we give ourselves and accept that we are all unique and we all rock!
2 Comments
I don’t think we so much slap the labels on each other as they are slapped on themselves. Just look at all the twitter handles or twitter bios… its “I’m a crunchy AP mom” “I’m a BF, CD, AP, blah blah”. I feel kinda left out since my bio says I love Paul Walker. LOL…. But that is a whole different post of how a lot of women lose their identities outsides of their children….
I don’t label my parenting or other peoples. I find it humorous.
To an extent I do agree, I don’t think moms need to disparage each other at the rate it seems to happen online.
On the other hand, I identify as an attachment parent and I mention it on twitter and in other areas. I LIKE being known as that and I like the way I raise my kids. Saying I’m an attachment parent, does not in any way mean that I think you (general) aren’t a good parent, in the same way someone saying that they are x, doesn’t negate what I do.