The Stereotyped Mom

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As Stay at Home Moms we often struggle for a "Title".  When we are out meeting new people and they ask "What do you do?" many of us proudly declare "I'm a Stay at Home Mom".  Other moms like the title Domestic Engineer or CFO of their family corporation or Chief Entertainment, Safety, and Welfare Officer.  But no matter what title it is that we like to bestow up on ourselves we often find that saying "Stay at Home Mom" gives the listener an immediate image of us sitting at home, eating bon bons, doing a couple of loads of laundry perhaps, and spending the rest of the day playing tennis at the club or whatever else it is that Stay at Home Moms do - because honestly, they don't really know, don't really care, and haven't thought about it that much.

 In a fantastic article titled "Why do we continue to stigmatize Stay at Home Moms?" Erin Almond, Stay at Home Mom and former graduate school student, talks about her recent interactions with the stigma of the Stay at Home Mom. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.

 But it is not just us Stay at Home Moms that get stereotyped.

 Working Moms have been on the short end of the stereotyp stick this past week. Gwyneth Paltrow went there. She stereotyped all working Moms comparing her difficult life to their much easier life in an interview with E! News when talking about her separation with her husband of 10 years. READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE.  Working Moms did not extend the sympathy to Gwyneth that she may have been seeking.

 Let's face it.  Being a Mom is hard work. Whether you have made the awesome decision to stay at home with your kids or you are in a circumstance by choice or otherwise to be a working mom outside of the home (you can clearly see where my bias is).  

 The important thing is for us to all support each other. We really don't know everything that went into Gwyneth Paltrow's relationship but the end of a marriage, especially when there are kids involved, is a sad thing. Working moms need our support and encouragement. Stay at Home Moms need our support and encouragement.  The more confident we are in what we do the easier it will be to raise strong, confident children.  It is not a thing where one individual person has it so much harder than an entire stereotyped group of people.  We all have our challenges and struggles.  

 It is time for us to stand up against the stereotypes and wrap our arms around each other and just say "It's going to be OK.  We are here for each other".  

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