[Janice D. Soderling]

Am I right in understanding that the Republican Veep candidate is lauded for being "a soccer mom"?

I was curious about the meaning of the phrase. I found this on Wiki

In North American social, cultural and political discourse, soccer mom broadly refers to a middle-class woman who spends a significant amount of her time transporting her school-age children to activities such as soccer practice. The male equivalent, soccer dad, is less-used.

I am hesitant to believe that a Governor or even a Mayor would be able to devote "significant time" driving kids to practice and picking them up.

So has the phrase been re-defined since last week and now means "a parent with a child who plays soccer?" Or does this mean that she qualified for the label X years ago before she became mayor?

Or WHUT?

And why is encouraging your child in a violent sport, a parenting merit? How about bedtime stories, cooking together, walking in the woods and other personality- enhancing activities?

Just asking.

edited in Question answered. Reading a little further I see that it indeed means being a mother of a child who plays soccer. New question. How is that a merit?

[Laura Heidy-Halberstein]

Originally posted by Janice D. Soderling:

In North American social, cultural and political discourse, soccer mom broadly refers to a middle-class woman who spends a significant amount of her time transporting her school-age children to activities such as soccer practice. The male equivalent, soccer dad, is less-used.

Personally, I was a swim mom. My sister's a wrestling mom.

I think we're lower on the totem pole.

Face it - ALL moms with a car are some kind of sport-mom. Or school-mom. Or Library-mom. I can't get all enthused about it as a qualification for vice president.

Nor does it make me "identify" with someone who does.

[Elle Bruno]

Hi Janice,
Here's my take on the soccer mom thing, even though I usually vow not to get into political discussions.
'Soccer Mom' is republican code. It means 'white, middle class, anti-abortion, anti-immigration, in the club.'
It means 'not black, not ghetto, not a community activist, not other, not Obama.'
ducking out now, Dee

[Stephen Collington]

Hi Janice,

Actually, Sarabara is a hockey mom, not a soccer mom. (I don't suppose much soccer gets played in Alaska.)

The interesting thing about all the breathless "she's a hockey mom" crap, is that "hockey mom" isn't necessarily a complimentary term. In fact, in Canada at least, the image of the hockey mom is kinda . . . ambivalent, at best. You know, grown adults shooting off at the mouth, cussing at the ref, getting a bit too involved in what really should just be a fun game for the kids. Like, say, in

THIS YOU TUBE VIDEO

for example. (Warning: very strong language.)

To be fair, the vast majority of "hockey moms" are just dedicated parents who get up at five in the morning to drive the kids to morning skate, etc. And we have only the You Tube video poster's word for it that the screamer really is a hockey mom (and not, say, a girlfriend). But the fact is, that while the behaviour in the video here is extreme, it's typical enough to file under the label "crazy hockey mother." (Personally, I found it simply by typing "hockey mom" in the search line. First thing to pop up.)

And yes, of course, "soccer moms" regularly go nuts as well. I'll let you all find the You Tube evidence for that yourselves. It won't be hard.

Anyway . . . something to think about whenever you hear the words "hockey mom" this election season.

Steve C.

[Brian Watson]

In the world of porn, a Soccer Mom is the older, married version of The Girl Next Door, a sort of wholesome MILF.

Or so I am informed by my degenerate porn-watching friends.