Motherhood: Pony Tails & Shower Power

Less than a year ago, I was working full-time as a television reporter.  I was into fashion, read books, loved music, discussed current affairs. I coloured my hair, wore a bikini, watched the news and looked forward to a good party.

I’ve since left my full-time gig in favour of freelance, to be home with my baby boy.  Other than that, not much has changed… except maybe my comfort level in a bikini, and the frequency in which I attend said parties.

I have, of course, entered a new demographic.  I’m still Gen Y, but I’m now also a mum, who happens to spend a lot more time at home.  I still dress the same, think the same, crack the same jokes … yet when I flick on the telly I’m left wondering if I missed the part where new mums are required to enter a phone booth to be transformed into Mrs Brady.

Now I know most chick-flicks and TV dramas are full of yummy-mummies and ultra-cool mamas and at times unrealistic mamas, but when it comes to commercials aimed at us real mums, it’s a different story. Clearly, mums are the target market for a lot of consumer goods, so there’s no shortage of ads, all aimed at the likes of me. Apparently.

I need Shower Power as much as the next mum, but when I watch these ads, it’s not me I see.  I see a mumsy bunch, with matching pony tails, three quarter jeans and collared shirts.  This makes me wonder, does giving birth and taking on a few home duties mean the end of skinny jeans, summer dresses and high heels –  the end of personal style?

But it’s not just the daggy dress code that leaves me cringing at a bunch of women I’m sure I’m supposed to be relating to. See, I do not use a magnifying glass to clean my toilet, and I don’t inwardly gloat when my friends use the bright white bowl. Don’t use phrases like “not in my house” either, when I see finger prints on the stainless steel. And nope, I don’t feel smug about the mess my chicken stock meal has made (Tess and her REAL family I find particularly annoying!)

Don’t get me wrong, I wear trackies with the best of them. I cook, clean, compare nappy brands, even bake the odd batch of muffins – but I do it in my denim cutoffs listening to Groove Armada dammit. And once it’s done I’m off to play with my son, or read a book, or call a friend, or go shopping. These ads would have you believe the sparkle of the shower floor is a daily highlight. And if a neighbour stops by and happens to witness the sparkle, well, even better!

Am I alone in my frustration, I wonder?  Are my shiny bathroom taps really enough to make my friends green with envy?  I put the question out there to my fellow mums … do they watch these TV mums with an understanding nod, or find the stereotype as irritating as I do? (As a side note, I have to admit this rant does not apply to nappy commercials to which I can easily relate.  Even shed the occasional tear to the one with Must Be Love playing in the background.)

But back to the topic at hand.

Turns out I’m not the only one aggravated by the whole “becoming-a-mum-means-you-have-nothing-better-to-think-about-than-the-shine-of-your-toilet-bowl” routine.

“Annoying,” says one such mum.

“Especially the Bam guy who shouts at you, and the lady who does karate kicks around her bathroom with cleaning product in hand.

“Maybe that’s where I’m going wrong.  I need to add the karate kicks in order for my shower screen to work.”

“Extremely ‘Stepford Wives’ and over-the-top happy,” says another.

“I’m a stay at home mum, a clean freak, I have a social life (sort of), and I totally zone out when one of those ads are on.”

Convinced there are no mums in advertising, I ask a friend in the business why then does it seem all the advertising for mum is built on stereotypes? To my surprise, she assures me, all campaigns are actually based on research.

“It could be that although we do not like the use of stereotypes, they may actually work,” says my friend, owner of Hamilton Creative.  “Maybe what we see is truly how life is for some. As much as we hate the stereotype, does it work for the subconscious mind of the shopper?”

Do most mums spend their day worrying about that stain they saw on hubby’s shirt as he walked out the door? Or do they see the stain, deal with it and move onto more important things.

More likely, there’s no such thing as an average mum, be they Gen Y or any other generation.  At the end of the day, we’re all human.

Now – time to try that new stain remover.

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