{{Short description|Slang term}} thumb|A middle-aged woman drinking wine
"'''Wine mom'''" is a pejorative term that is used to describe a typically upper middle class mother, often with young children, who turns to alcoholic drinks to cope with being over-worked or fatigued from parenting.<ref name="I Became A Pandemic 'Wine Mom.' Here's What I Learned. – Huffington Post – Amanda Montei">{{cite web |last1=Montei |first1=Amanda |title=I Became A Pandemic 'Wine Mom.' Here's What I Learned. |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/wine-mom-covid-19-pandemic_n_611bd2f5e4b0ff60bf7a192b |website=www.huffpost.com |date=18 August 2021 |publisher=Huffington Post |access-date=8 February 2022}}</ref><ref name='"Wine Mom" Jokes Can Be Funny, But They Mask How Overwhelmed Mothers Are Right Now – Good Housekeeping – Irina Gonzalez'>{{cite web |last1=Gonzalez |first1=Irina |title="Wine Mom" Jokes Can Be Funny, But They Mask How Overwhelmed Mothers Are Right Now |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/parenting/wine-mom-jokes-are-everywhere-and-they-mask-how-overwhelmed-mothers-are/ar-AAOY8yJ |website=www.msn.com |publisher=Good Housekeeping |access-date=8 February 2022}}</ref><ref name="The Many Faces of the ‘Wine Mom’ – The Atlantic – Ashley Fetters">{{cite web |last1=Fetters |first1=Ashley |title=The Many Faces of the 'Wine Mom' |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2020/05/wine-moms-explained/612001/ |website=www.theatlantic.com |date=23 May 2020 |publisher=The Atlantic |access-date=8 February 2022}}</ref>
==History==
The term "wine mom" first came into popular use during the COVID-19 pandemic, though the term's origins date back to at least pre-2016.<ref name="The cheeky ‘wine mom’ trope isn’t just dumb. It’s dangerous. – Washington Post – Ashley Abramson">{{cite news |last1=Abramson |first1=Ashley |title=The cheeky 'wine mom' trope isn't just dumb. It's dangerous. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2018/09/21/the-cheeky-wine-mom-trope-isnt-just-dumb-its-dangerous/ |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=17 February 2022}}</ref>
Factors that have been considered relevant by commentators include:
* working full-time at home * loneliness/lack of social interaction in a home or apartment due to COVID-19 restrictions or otherwise<ref name="This ‘wine mom’ never questioned her drinking. Then she stopped for a month. – Washington Post – Cathy Alter">{{cite news |last1=Alter |first1=Cathy |title=This 'wine mom' never questioned her drinking. Then she stopped for a month. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/02/01/wine-mom-dry-january-drinking/ |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=17 February 2022}}</ref> * being a single parent<ref name="18 single mom survival tips from other single moms – Care.com – Kate Ward">{{cite web |last1=Ward |first1=Kate |title=18 single mom survival tips from other single moms |url=https://www.care.com/c/where-to-find-help-for-single-mothers/ |website=www.care.com |publisher=Care.com |access-date=17 February 2022}}</ref> * raising one or more children concomitant to other parental duties * lack of personal space or privacy * social pressures or conformity to drink<ref name="Becoming Sober Made Me Realize How Problematic ‘Wine Mom’ Culture Really Is – Self.com – Claire Gillespie">{{cite web |last1=Gillespie |first1=Claire |title=Becoming Sober Made Me Realize How Problematic 'Wine Mom' Culture Really Is |url=https://www.self.com/story/why-wine-mom-culture-is-problematic |website=www.self.com |date=20 November 2018 |publisher=Self.com |access-date=17 February 2022}}</ref> * general feelings of being overwhelmed<ref name='"Wine Mom" Jokes Can Be Funny, But They Mask How Overwhelmed Mothers Are Right Now – Good Housekeeping – Irina Gonzalez' />
== Research == A study done by Erin M. Hill and Madeline E. Mazurek concluded that 28% of moms engage in harmful drinking behaviors and those that identify as a wine mom are more likely to drink more dangerously. This was further increased if the women reported high stress levels or dissatisfaction with their bodies. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Bersi |first=Mallory |date=2025-04-01 |title=Sip Happens: The Social Normalization of Wine Moms |url=https://publichealthpost.org/mental-behavioral-health/sip-happens-the-social-normalization-of-wine-moms/ |access-date=2025-12-07 |website=Public Health Post |language=en-US}}</ref>
According to a different psychological study done by Emily Lorenz, a doctoral candidate and graduate instructor at the University of Missouri, portraying mothers drinking for stress-relief purposes on social media could “encourage risky drinking behaviors by shaping social norms around alcohol consumption”. This study was conducted by splitting 330 mothers into three groups and exposing them to different social media content: wine mom, sober mom, and neutral content. After the test period all participants answered a series of questions regarding wine moms. Although the wine mom content group felt more encouraged to drink, the study found that without prior normalization from television, there was not enough evidence to prove social media alone could influence a mom’s perspective on risky drinking. However, those who had seen moms frequently drink on television believed moms drank way more than people normally do.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Lorenz | first1=Emily | last2=Behm-Morawitz | first2=Elizabeth | title=Wine mom culture: Investigating social media influence on mothers' alcohol norms | journal=Psychology of Popular Media | date=2025 | volume=14 | issue=2 | pages=245–255 | doi=10.1037/ppm0000535 | url=https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000535 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>
==See also== {{portal||Wine}} * Alcohol and health
== References ==
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Category:2010s neologisms Category:2020s neologisms Category:2010s slang Category:2020s slang Category:Alcohol abuse Category:Motherhood Category:Wine culture