Have you seen the “New Face of Motherhood?” According to a recent article on Elite Daily, “The New Face of Motherhood: Young, Cool Moms Who Are Totally Killing It,” Millennial moms have a lot of fantastic (universal!) qualities. You should go check it out. I’ll wait. It is sort of hard to tell if the article is for real or if it’s satire. I’m holding out hope that the whole thing is a joke.
There were a lot of gorgeous photos of moms with really pretty hair wearing amazing outfits next to their adorably-clad offspring. They made their own organic food. They took their kids to freaking Coachella. They had a blast at Home Depot! Their kids are technological wizards and they are crafty as hell. And they super-love hanging out with their mini-me BFFs. So of course, I decided I better attempt to capture the essence of my own face of motherhood. Here’s how slightly cool, perhaps a bit lazy, Gen X moms are totally killing it. Or, um, at least this one.
We started out like this.
And now we look like this.
OK, we actually mostly look like this.
Our kids act like asshats sometimes.
There was that unfortunate year when the little one said bad words a lot.
We let our kids mess up the Tupperware cabinet because we’ve lost the will to live.
We pack too much crap in our minivan for weekend road trips.
And after a few days of traveling, the car looks like this:
This is our idea of creative family food projects. OK, fine. Our five-year-old made this by herself. And yes, that’s a wine cork.
We do things we said we’d never do. Like sleep with our babies.
Our kids smear non-organic yogurt from a tube all over their bodies.
We take pictures of stuff like this and snicker. Because it’s totally funny.
And this.
I assure you, I did not disrupt the integrity of this scene by posing the doll.
We buy our kids “healthy” peanut butter but not organic bread. We do cut the crusts off.Â
We also buy ourselves Justin Bieber birthday cakes because it’s funny.
Our kids have tantrums at restaurants.
And outlet malls.
We take selfies, too. If our kids are picking their noses, bonus!
When we take photographs of our creative holiday food efforts, it looks like albino moose droppings.
We embrace our kids’ unique styles.
Even if they dress dumpy sometimes.
Because after all, we’ve been known to work at home wearing their Hello Kitty snuggies.
Sometimes we take ironic, trendy selfies holding Starbucks drinks.
But then we feel like a total dumbass and quit that shizz.
We can’t bring ourselves to drink the “special tea” our kids poured into this nasty cup because we lack imagination and don’t mind killing their dreams.
Yep, we’ve matched our kids before.
We may have slightly squishy bikini bodies, but it’s OK, because we wear board shorts and make sure our toddlers’ legs are in front of the problem areas.
Martha Stewart would have a stroke in our kitchen. But we’re still. Killing. It.
People had a lot to say about the Elite Daily article. One commenter wrote, “If this article was a person, I would punch it in the face.” Many others mentioned the lack of diversity featured in the photo montage. One of my Twitter friends commented with, “Rich white women with one child are totally killing it.” Yeah, pretty much.
I wrote this comment on my blog’s FB page when I shared it: “I just threw up in my mouth a little. Um, lack of cultural and body type diversity anyone? Let’s not reduce an entire generation of mothers to a hip Barbie prototype, m’kay?” Then someone bashed me for “skinny shaming.” Jesus. Parts of me are sort of skinny. I have nothing against skinny, pretty, happy-looking mamas.
Do “real moms” all have messy houses, a lack of creativity, and flabby bodies? Hell, no! I’m sure some of my fellow Gen X moms are Pinterest goddesses, have sparkling domiciles, sport rock-solid abs, and throw perfect parties. More power to them. Repeat after me: “All moms are real moms.” There’s no need to throw stones at attractive, stylish, physically fit moms. The danger comes when we attempt to categorize the “new face of motherhood” with women from one race, one body type, and an alarmingly similar set of values, including Pinterest perfection, the trendiest clothing, and unlimited financial resources.
Are the pictures pretty to look at? Totally. I too love sharing flattering photos of myself with my kids. But when we slap a new “face” on motherhood? Let’s try to be a bit more realistic.
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This post kills it. Amen sister.
Thank you so much!
As usual, this is a spot-on commentary. You go Steph!
Thanks, Estelle! And see you soon! 😀
I thought the post was a joke, I mean the site is called “Elite Daily”—sounded like a parody to me. But researching the site, it looks pretty real and calls itself “The Voice of Generation Y”, written by and for Millenials. I wonder how many Gen Y-ers actually feel it speaks for them.
“Millenials are killing it!” Said the millenials.
Bwahaha! 😀
It’s sort of offensive to Gen Y-ers, I think. I mean, how many large groups of people enjoy being classified as one ridiculous “type” that likely doesn’t describe them accurately? Yuck.
Hello, Steph. Love the pictures. We probably would have had many similar pictures of our kids except that we did not have cell phone cameras to capture all those moments.
All moms are real moms, and my daughter is a real mom–and a great one, I must say.
Yes, she is indeed a great mom! I personally am grateful for all the photos we DO have of us during the 1980s. Good times.
Preach! And, btw, someone on my fb page shared THIS post with ME! 🙂 Glad it’s making the rounds. 🙂
Ha! Thanks for that!
Um, love this. I’m still locked out of FB (I’m sure due to traveling/user error), and in no rush to get back in:)> So, I missed this article. I’m a little afraid to click on the link you provided. Thanks, I think. I’m not sure I’m in the right mommy place to go get my buttons pushed.
Yeah, don’t go there… 🙂
You nailed it sister
Thanks for that. 🙂
Oh preach!!!!!!! THIS is killing it! Excellent job!
Thank you SO much for that!
I love this post. I read the Elite article and cringed. That’s pretty motherhood. Your pictures, however, I can totally relate to. I remember all these moments but can show you none because digital cameras and mobile phones weren’t cheap enough back then. I agree with what you say; just be YOU being a Mum and not desperately trying to suit a one size fits all perfection that doesn’t exist.
Thanks so much for that! There’s a place for “pretty motherhood” for sure, as long as it does not become the new reference point for what motherhood really is. What a joke! I appreciate your comment !
Ok, I now love you for the fact your daughter is wearing a shirt that says, ‘I love the Beach Boys.’
Haha! I love that shirt. They’re my dad’s favorite. 🙂
hahahh!! Loved this! That would be totally me and my boys…if I had bothered to take photos!!
Glad you liked it, Roshni!
I wanted to respond similarly when I read that “article” (I also wanted to taco punch it).
You’re absolutely right – there is nothing wrong with those moms, but let’s not call them “the face of motherhood”. The face of motherhood is also sometimes covered with our children’s leftover yogurt, and dresses in spit-stained shirts.
Your comment said it all! And good grief, how I love the expression “taco punch.” xoxo
Thank you!
You’re so welcome!
Boo-yah! That’s killing it! Loved the matching jammies–haha.
This is brilliant. You are too funny. And by the way, most of those moms aren’t even millennials. They are older then me and I’m a Gen X.
I am not sure what generation Mum I am, but it goes back a way. One of my favourite Mummy sayings/questions is “Which outfit goes best with baby spew?”
This! This is the face of my “totally killing it” mommyhood. Thank you!