Well I love soccer but I'm not, and never will be, a 'mom'....isn't it about time everyone stopped using this outdated cliche?
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Well I love soccer but I'm not, and never will be, a 'mom'....isn't it about time everyone stopped using this outdated cliche?
bonnie
I play a nice person on twitter.
No kidding. It's like we're stuck in some bad 70s sitcom.
The funny thing (to me) I've never heard women use that term. I think it was a byproduct of some unaware advertising team, trying to describe a segment of the population. And failing.
I thought it was men driving minivans that were these so called 'soccer moms' ?
my coworker bought his wife an S and he now drives a minivan :tongue:
Last edited:
I'll of course leave it to you guys to decide what the words mean and how they fit into your culture or not, but FWIW, I am not American and have seen the word "soccer mom" and more northern "hockey mom" used in many an American news and reality TV - mostly by proud "soccer moms" themselves. It seems like an honor badge, even. I doubt all those uses have been scripted (some, of course, may have been), so maybe it depends on the state/area. It is not something one oft hears on the posh side of New York, of course, perhaps the same with California? From someone looking from afar, I never thought of it as a derogatory term. Most cultures have their "average Joe", "Joe the plumber" types of phrases and their equivalents and they seem to serve a purpose.
A lot of my friends say a pretty typical sight in America are the minivans lined up picking kids from school or practice, more often driven by women than not. Perhaps this is a locality issue as well.
Don't believe everything you see on TV...and I suggest we leave this discussion and go back to the topic at hand.
Just to clarify, I think I'm a critical watcher of the media. Foreign or domestic. I think the Wikipedia page on soccer moms is telling too. As for the second point, agreed.
bonnie
I play a nice person on twitter.
Soccer mom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Apparently, women did use that term and it really wasn't used that much until the 90s.
It'll even out a bit once Tesla makes its pick-up.
Oh yes, topic: great to see the clarification. And something written by JB Straubel. Or at least something JB Straubel would put his name on. A similar post with Elon Musk's name on it would be less credible at this point, I think.
Good to see the 1/31/2015 date. Let's see if JB Straubel can avoid getting a Muskian reputation on timelines.
SwedishAdvocate
Active Member
Canuck
Well-Known Member
With three girls, the term is "Dance Moms" around my house and the TV show of the same name is always on. I have to keep telling my girls that people in real life don't act that, that they do it for the cameras (being rude and offensive) but lately I have been thinking that real life is more and more becoming like reality television. I tell my kids that their minds are being ruined by these TV shows and I really think there may some some truth to this statement.
bluenation
Member
lol i just discovered this thread
um, you guys realize this is an archetype? ie. a generalization based on reality, but not absolute reality?
let me put it this way for you guys: have you heard of the derogatory term "boy racers"? i hope for the sake of fairness, it also leaves a bad taste in your mouth?
and secondly, mothers are more likely than fathers to prefer SUV's. This is an accepted and well understood fact. I'm confident you guys understand the reasons behind the fact.
and thirdly.....there was a article like two weeks ago about women waiting for the model X, because it's an SUV!
And written by a woman!
"soccer mom" is inaccurate only in the sense that certain countries prefer US football/hockey/cricket/etc over soccer....but the archetype itself is real, OP. By no means outdated
um, you guys realize this is an archetype? ie. a generalization based on reality, but not absolute reality?
let me put it this way for you guys: have you heard of the derogatory term "boy racers"? i hope for the sake of fairness, it also leaves a bad taste in your mouth?
and secondly, mothers are more likely than fathers to prefer SUV's. This is an accepted and well understood fact. I'm confident you guys understand the reasons behind the fact.
and thirdly.....there was a article like two weeks ago about women waiting for the model X, because it's an SUV!
And written by a woman!"soccer mom" is inaccurate only in the sense that certain countries prefer US football/hockey/cricket/etc over soccer....but the archetype itself is real, OP. By no means outdated
Last edited:
This is too funny to pass up. In my opinion, it's silly to acknowledge something as cliché simply because it is true. I think we can agree soccer moms prefer the utilitarian nature of an SUV. Hence, a soccer mom is more likely to drive a Model X. OP conveniently left out the frame of reference for his initial quote; that soccer moms would not tolerate a lapse in communication from Tesla Motors in regards to false range claims. I think we can agree this to be a true as well. A soccer mom would not have the wherewithal to visit an enthusiast forum to make sense of her X's shortcomings (full pun intended). The blow back would be intensified and it would take a lot more than a dorkified blog post by a CTO to calm them down. In short, Tesla needs to consider their corporate social responsibility when it comes to consumer communication and soccer dads need to be taken into consideration in Model X marketing.
roblab
Active Member
I had to seriously rethink my feelings about tree hugging when I went to Costa Rica and saw huge trees with 3 and 4 inch thorns all up and down the bark. And the bark on our redwoods in our yard is pretty rough. I think I will just Like trees. As in Facebook.
As to Redneck, Heck, I was a redneck. Probably still am. Used to work out doors, got burned. That's where the term came from. Also I took a "red neck quiz" just yesterday and got a perfect score. I have no problems with that one.
bonnie
I play a nice person on twitter.
Let me chime in here ... redneck, soccer mom, etc. all have legitimate origins. No argument. But those terms have also taken on a negative connotation. Rob, it's one thing for you to call yourself a redneck. But if I said, 'They're just a bunch of rednecks' vs. 'They're just a bunch of brilliant engineers', which one would be negative to you? Right. It's a putdown. Same with soccer moms, etc.
Case in point, I joke and say I'm a legitimate bastard. I am! The term 'bastard' accurately describes the circumstances of my birth. But does it have a negative connotation? Sure. If any of you called an illegitimate child a bastard, it would not be meant as a compliment.
So while we can all cry 'oh hey, here is where it came from', it doesn't change the fact that these terms have gone negative. I completely agree with Nigel. My two cents.
Case in point, I joke and say I'm a legitimate bastard. I am! The term 'bastard' accurately describes the circumstances of my birth. But does it have a negative connotation? Sure. If any of you called an illegitimate child a bastard, it would not be meant as a compliment.
So while we can all cry 'oh hey, here is where it came from', it doesn't change the fact that these terms have gone negative. I completely agree with Nigel. My two cents.
Bonnie - I believe that the three terms now in discussion ALL were created with the express intention of providing a negative connotation. That is specifically different from the word bastard and its history.
If I were to be overly-sensitive to indiscriminate use of words or terms because of their origin, then, as a southpaw, I would be as neurotic as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Ten seconds of scribbles brings these examples with all their concealed or blatant prejudices:
Off-handed remark
Sinister
Correct
Gauche
Rectitude
Dextrous
Right
Left-handed compliment
Maladroit
Having two left feet
By the way, "legitimate bastard" is quite clever. Nice turn of phrase!
Happy New Year, all.
If I were to be overly-sensitive to indiscriminate use of words or terms because of their origin, then, as a southpaw, I would be as neurotic as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Ten seconds of scribbles brings these examples with all their concealed or blatant prejudices:
Off-handed remark
Sinister
Correct
Gauche
Rectitude
Dextrous
Right
Left-handed compliment
Maladroit
Having two left feet
By the way, "legitimate bastard" is quite clever. Nice turn of phrase!
Happy New Year, all.
bluenation
Member
nigel requests that we stay on topic. so let's do that, shall we?
the topic is, isn't it time we stop using this outdated idiom?
and i think we have clearly shown it's not outdated.
and that there are plenty of examples in this thread of 'negative idioms' that people dont seem to get up in arms about.
yet 'soccer mom' deserves special treatment?....i wonder why...
bonnie
I play a nice person on twitter.
Having a discussion about why certain words evoke negative reactions is on topic.
That particular term came up because people have been using it to describe a key market for the Model X. You may have missed that.
Let the righties have their names and ergonomic mice. We'll take the more consistent oil pattern, the shorter run to 1st base*, and the US presidency.
Soccer mom has indeed taken a negative connotation, especially when referring to vehicles as it implies not only having a minivan or SUV, but an oversized one. In the same sense, in the UK "urban SUVs" are pejoratively referred to as "Chelsea tractors", after the wealthy area of London, their relative size and lack of maneuverability, and perhaps the perception of a "pseudo-rural" affect of the upper-middle class mothers driving them.
* Some of us, though not me.
Last edited:
Similar threads
