What does it mean to be a wine mom?
Self-proclaimed wine moms are plentiful online. They usually have at least a few things in common. They’re moms, they enjoy wine — or “mommy juice” as they sometimes call it — and they typically use self-deprecating humor in their social media feeds and blog posts, joking about drinking wine to cope with parenting pressures.
What is wine mom culture?
Wine mom culture is the online community that has materialized around these women. Wine moms bond by following one another’s social feeds and promoting memes featuring slogans and sayings about drinking wine as a way to deal with the stresses of motherhood. If the plethora of wine mom signs, T-shirts and glasses available online is any indication, these women (or gift-givers shopping for them) spend money on consumer goods that proudly announce their wine mom status.
While the wine mom culture may seem like a harmless and supportive way to network with women with similar interests, there is a hazardous flipside — a regular relationship with alcohol can lead to alcoholism for some people, including mothers who sip wine. Opponents of the wine mom movement are quick to point out that the underlying message these women are sending to their children — something akin to, “The only way I can deal with being your mom is to drink wine” — is probably not how the moms genuinely feel and not what they want their kids to hear. Wine mom culture critics think what these moms are really trying to say is they’re overwhelmed, but instead of expressing it in a healthy way to the people who could offer real help, such as a spouse or other family member, they’re dealing with it by drinking and posting snarky memes.
What percentage of women drink wine?
According to a Gallup poll published in August 2021 about the type of alcohol Americans prefer, 49% of female respondents named wine over liquor or beer. For women who already drink alcohol in light or moderate amounts, it is believed that wine in quantities of no more than 5-ounces daily may provide some health benefits, such as reducing the risk for:
- Heart disease
- Ischemic stroke
- Diabetes
However, women who are pregnant or think they may be pregnant should avoid alcohol use due to the risk of harming the fetus.
In addition, drinking a glass of wine daily is not recommended if you don’t already drink, think you may be tempted to drink more than one drink per day, or are in the heavy or high-risk drinking category, defined as consuming three or more drinks in a day or seven or more drinks in a week. It is also not recommended for women who binge drink, drinking four or more drinks within two hours.
Learn More
Moderate alcohol use may have some benefits, but it’s not risk-free. Learn more. If you struggle to manage your alcohol use, St. Elizabeth Healthcare can help. Check out our Alcohol & Drug Treatment services and our Journey Recovery Center.
