Moms, We Can Be Cool Too!

So my uterus has a little wear and tear, that doesn’t mean that I can’t be one of the cool kids, right? Tracy Moore, for Jezebel, takes a hilariously close-to-home look at how moms can attract and keep cool friends post-gestation. Her advice? Pretend like hell that you’ve never had a child. Say it’s someone else’s. Sneak it into the conversation when no one is paying attention, but only if absolutely necessary.

There’s a pretty common stereotype of new moms who can’t talk about anything but their children. They discuss diaper contents with innocent bystanders, forget that life goes on outside of their nursery and upload a new iPhone photo shoot of their wee ones to Facebook every hour, on the hour. Its a prevalent stereotype because… ya know… some moms get a little carried away (see anything done by STFU, Parents for further evidence).

But Moore shines a harsh and sarcastic light on the overshare backlash. These moms are petrified that their children will turn them into frumpy, emotional losers. So even if they have a child, even if they like their child, they work their tushes off to be the cool mom. These anti-mombies never mention their children, can still be seen out at the bars most weekends and exhibit behavior common in a college sorority. If they ever refer to themselves as a Momma, I guarantee you that they preface it with the word “Hot”.

Moore’s piece was obviously sarcastic and exagerrated, but I believe she highlighted a counter-balance to the MOPs group member who is so often made fun of. Unfortunately, neither of these stereotypes presents a healthy and happy balance between motherhood and functioning social being. I honestly believe that its possible for mothers to have childless friends, with neither person pretending to be something they’re not. I hope these competing caricatures of motherhood show us that we should simply be ourselves, instead of trying to fit into the mommy-mold. Ya know, I think we’re all pretty cool to begin with.