the sexualization of mothers

Women in society are objectified and sexualized. We all know this. However, I thought that this was  limited to women who are single or newly married: women who aren't mothers. I was wrong.


Maria is a 32-year-old working mother of 3 boys


This cover of Time Magazine created a lot of controversy. My narrative is concerned with the image itself. 


This is an 8 1/2 month pregnant mother doing squats in the gym.






















This narrative—mothers sexualized—is new to me. As a single guy, I never paid much attention to messages about mothers at all. Now that I'm married, I tend to notice more of the messages geared to women. Common in all three of the images is the image of a woman in her 30's. Each of these women depicted is clearly a mom. The implication is that each has been a mom for some time. This sets the scene for a striking narrative: these women are controversial because they are mothers, yet they are acting out their pre-maternal role as women, which is physical and sexual. Notice the attire. Image one and three depict mothers who are in a workout bra and microshorts. Image two shows a mom breast feeding in a tank top without a bra, and, she just happens to look very fit as well. The attire is connected to the gym that they implicitly go to on a regular basis. The attire in all three images subtly suggests sexuality and physical prowess, all traits usually ascribed to women who are not mothers.

I picked these three images in particular because they set a nice juxtaposition. They juxtapose motherhood directly with womanhood, specifically the sexual side of womanhood. Media and society have built the sexual side of womanhood up as a marketing ploy, for both women and men. Depicted sexuality sells products to men who innately pay attention to sex-related things. Likewise, depicted sexuality sets a new standard for women that they can attain by purchasing certain products, patronizing certain clothing stores or beauty brands, and behaving in a certain way socially. It is interesting to me that this sexuality is so pervasive that it is now affecting motherhood. Not ex-mothers who are wanting botox, but women who have young children and are at the height of their mothering roles. This sexual narrative challenges the notion that women have to compartmentalize phases in life to fulfill the role of motherhood. Instead, the narrative strongly shows how women are sexual and mothers at the very same time, and with apparent ease.

It is interesting that the images aren't inherently controversial by themselves: we see attractive women in sports bras and microshorts almost on a daily basis. The controversy in these instances comes from the way each woman challenges the normal role of motherhood, and by extension, how each woman sexualizes her role in motherhood. In the first image, Maria responded to critics by saying it was her intent to inspire. Indeed, she did inspire. She inspired women to focus on their pre-maternal sexuality in greater earnest. The same emphasis is given in the latter two images. The sexualized mom narrative asks quite openly, why be a mom when you can be a sexy mom? It isn't my place to judge if this is good or bad: I am neither a woman nor a mother. I did think it interesting to notice a new narrative forming for a demographic of women that is ever shrinking in westernized culture, the culture that told women they had to be sexy. Now western culture tells women they have to be sexy in their motherhood: not just before, not just afterward.