Ep 185: How to Be Sober in a Wine Mom Culture w/ Dana Bowman, Part 1
Wine Mom Culture: Where wine is promoted as the best and most accepted coping strategy for parenting. Where wine is hailed as the ultimate way to decompress and bond with other women. Where after a long-hard day, you, mom “deserve” a sparkling glass of white.
Moms bring wine to play dates, serve it at kids’ birthday parties, and sip it during sports practice…wine is sold to the stressed-out moms carting their kids to the zoo.
A “Wine mom” search on Etsy revealed over 63,000 results including
- “Mommy Needs Wine” on t-shirts, totes, hats, and dish towels
- “Mama Juice” and “Mommy’s Sippy Cup” on wine glasses
- “This should be wine” on coffee mugs and water bottles
- “I’m the reason mom drinks” on an infant onesie
- “Mom’s Reasons to Wine” a personalized wine glass where you can list the names of your children (as the reason you drink wine). This is currently the most popular Wine Mom item on Etsy.
Up until the last 20 years or so, alcohol had traditionally been something men drank–(think: sports and beer, men gathering at the local bar…). But in the ‘90s a very specific marketing campaign emerged to target women–advertising sweet, pink, beautiful drinks and showing women as happy and relaxed in social situations while consuming alcohol.
A few years later, clever and hilarious Facebook memes emerged affirming that parenting is, in fact, hard…and the best way to cope is to drink.
This target marketing was wildly successful: In the last 15 years, the greatest increase in alcohol consumption has been in women in their 30s and 40s. Currently, about 1 in 5 women struggle with excessive alcohol use, most of them privately.
Thanks for nothing, Wine Mom Culture.
Today, I’m speaking with Dana Bowman. Dana is the proud author of two award-winning recovery memoirs: How to Be Perfect Like Me and Bottled: A Mom’s Guide to Early Recovery. both published by Central Recovery Press. Bottled was selected as a Kansas 2016 Notable Book, so it now resides at the capital library.
She speaks and writes about the perfection myth, creativity, writing, and recovery. A high school English teacher for over twenty years, she now teaches writing at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. This past October, she happily started working as a part-time librarian where she is in charge of shelving and quality control (Reading. She’s always reading). Last summer she attempted standup comedy for the second time, and she survived.
Visit her at danabowmancreative.com where she shares about creative hacks for productivity.
Listen in to her podcast The Neighborgood about the power of a good story.
Connect with her on her socials where she posts far too many pictures of her beloved dead cat, Steve.
This is an incredibly important conversation for moms. Please don’t miss this one.
LINKS:
(Some of these may be affiliate links)
Bottled: A Mom’s Guide to Early Recovery, by Dana Bowman
How to Be Perfect Like Me, by Dana Bowman
If you are struggling with alcohol, here are some links Dana recommends:
To find an AA meeting near you
The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
The Naked Mind, by Annie Grace
The Alcohol Experiment, by Annie Grace
________________________________________
Join the Behind the Balance Newsletter and Community on Substack
Are you a writer looking for ways to grow your audience outside of social media? Download my free resource: 27 Real Ways to Grow Your Audience Outside of Social Media
To listen to the podcasts where I’ve appeared as a guest, visit my PR + Media Page
Buy Mom, You’re Amazing! And Other Things I Want to Tell You on Amazon
Is the Voice in My Head God or Just Me? is available on Amazon
Finding Your Balance is available on Amazon
Take the Make Social Media Small 7-Day Challenge!
Is it Time for You to Break Up with Social Media? Take the Quiz!
How much time have you spent on social media since you joined? Try out the calculator and find out!
If you need a book or challenge of mine and cannot afford it, please email me at thescooponbalance@gmail.com for a free digital copy or a 100% off coupon. No strings attached.
Keep up with me outside the podcast: Join my email list!
Blog post and graphics by Sophia Lebano
Have a question or a comment?
Leave a comment below or email me at thescooponbalance@gmail.com
Follow me on Pinterest
I am no longer active on social media.