Cate Sevilla discusses the Alpha Mom controversy, and why these women shouldn't be viewed as a threat to other Moms...
Now while I'm not a mother, I still have some strong opinions on what the term Alpha Mom means. It really bothers me that people have started to think that Alpha Moms are out to "make the rest of us look bad". Despite being childless, I'm still a huge fan of websites such as Heather B. Armstrong's blog Dooce, and Finslippy, which is written by Alice Bradley. Both of these fabulous bloggers write columns for the popular website Alpha Mom, and Bradley was even recently featured on Good Morning America as an Alpha Mom, and was asked to explain what exactly an Alpha Mom is.
Now, I've read a lot of Alpha Mom-esque, Blogher blogs, and I have to say, the way they portrayed Alpha Moms in the segment is ridiculous. My personal take is that GMA made the overall image of Alpha Moms out to be uptight and portrayed being an Alpha Mom as if it required a membership card and monthly fee. However, if you actually read Finslippy and Dooce, you realize that these Alpha Moms are incredibly down-to-earth, humble, and are just doing what every mom is trying to do. (You know, not F-up your kid.) The difference between your "regular moms" and mothers like Bradley and Armstrong is that they're incredibly talented writers, and are putting themselves out there to explain their take on parenting, and life in general. Just because we don't read about other women's Alpha Mom-ness or see it on TV doesn't mean that it does not exist.
It just seems to me that GMA angled this piece to make the Alpha Moms look like a threat to the "Beta and Delta Moms" by asking if these women were setting unreasonable expectations for their children, but more specifically, for other mothers. Sorry, but I really don't think that Alpha Moms exist to try and make other mothers feel inadequate. Nor do I think they should apologize for the way that they have chosen to raise their children.
Cate Sevilla is the Assistant Editor of Dollymix, and contributes to many Shiny blogs. She'd also like to buy Alice and Heather a drink.