Alpha and Iota
By GlindaHave you heard of the term “Alpha Mom?” That is the demographic that advertisers lust after, the self-appointed band of mothers who supposedly set the trends while the rest of the moms look down at their Peg Perego stroller and wonder why they’re not considered cool anymore. But really, it isn’t only about baby gear, it can be anything that is sold, from food to toys to cars.
But I wonder if that you think you are an Alpha Mom, does that really mean you aren’t?
I mean, most people who are trendy, popular, and whatnot do it effortlessly. You can always tell when someone is trying too hard.
So, I’m not sure I would place myself in the category of Alpha Mom, and for some reason, it resonates negatively with me. It conjures up the mothers who schedule a billion activities in the name of getting little Johnny into Harvard, or who sit flashing math cards at their six-month old. Women who furiously text on Blackberries while “watching” their kids at the playground and feed their child an all-organic diet.
And yet, the next, logical term Beta Mom doesn’t apply to me either. A Beta Mom would someone who slavishly copies the Alpha Mom, buying the Trumpette socks just because the Alpha Mom has some, not necessarily because she likes them. It seems like there is a serious lack of self-esteem for the Beta Moms.
So going down the Greek alphabet, because I’m simply following the theme here, I considered Omega Mom. The last letter of that alphabet, it would connote the exact opposite of an Alpha Mom. But that might be someone who considers hot dogs a food group, and thinks that reading her latest copy of OK! magazine aloud to her toddler qualifies as a bedtime story. That doesn’t describe me either.
Theta Mom, sounds a bit too Scientology-y, and Kappa Mom just sounds wrong in too many ways.
How about Iota Mom? That’s somewhere in the middle of the alphabet, not way down at the bottom. And interestingly, it also means “very small amount.” So if we’re talking about housework, folding the laundry, and caring about following the herd, that is so me.
November 3rd, 2007 at 6:50 am
I am so glad none of this stuff existed when my girls were little. Moms have enough to deal with without competing with each other.
November 3rd, 2007 at 8:20 am
Iota sounds perfect to me! I’m right there with you!
November 3rd, 2007 at 1:28 pm
I also kind of like Gamma Mom, much like the theory of “Gamma Girls” that cropped up a few years ago.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/64706
November 3rd, 2007 at 8:58 pm
I think I want to be a Nu Mom.
November 4th, 2007 at 2:44 am
There’s an Omega site out there.
http://omegawomen.wordpress.com/
November 5th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
What about moms who feed a whole foods diet, but refuse to pay more than $100 for a stroller? I’m OK with Iota. Does me just being OK with being an Iota mom definitely make me an Iota mom?
November 5th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
I’ve been dying to say something about the Alpha Mom movement that didn’t sound as snide, competitive and condescending as the Alpha Mom movement itself. But what can you say? Isn’t how well your children turn out as human beings the final arbiter of bragging rights?
November 6th, 2007 at 2:15 am
I am definitely NOT an Alpha Mom, but I know a few and I have to say they make me tired. I admire their energy and style, but it’s really not me. I like the name Gamma Mama too. Standing just behind Alpha and Beta Moms, the Gamma Mom enjoys the occasional Bugaboo or Trumpette treat, without caring who knows. She laughs at the Beta and doesn’t even try to keep up with the Alpha, but goes her own way and it’s enough that her kids think she is the Alpha and Omega.
November 6th, 2007 at 9:22 am
Iota sounds good to me. I’m there, too 🙂
November 6th, 2007 at 11:18 am
I’m a Gamma by default.
Why do I feel like I’m pledging a sorority? Gamma Iota Nu, anyone?
November 6th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
See, the problem is, they have skewed it. Alpha is Love, and the Beginning, not Top Dawg! I’m Alpha Omicron Pi, which really is a sorority. Mmmm.. can I be Alpha Pi mom? That way I can be the mom that loves her kids and feeds them lots of Pie…
April 9th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Iota Mom an awful lot of what makes me the woman I am.