While I was looking at memes for our class on Alcohol and Women, I was shocked by how many memes reference “mommy juice”. This was a new concept to me. “Mommy juice” is the reference to mother’s drinking alcohol to get through their busy days being a mom. It is used as a coping mechanism for their stress. It is frustrating to see how common “mommy juice” is because this is making it acceptable and even may be persuading mothers to drink when they otherwise would not. Deidra Roach, medical project officer for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, explains “that up until the mid-20th century, it was considered socially unacceptable for women to drink in public, especially to the point of intoxication. So, women were simply less likely to do so”. Now, with the changing social norms, drinking in public at all different events such as “girl’s wine nights” has become not only acceptable but the norm. Since it is the norm to drink on more occasions and more frequently, it is becoming harder and harder for people to avoid alcohol at any event.
I also find it very interesting that I did not notice these ads and memes before we discussed the idea of “mommy juice” during class. I think part of the reason I was not aware of this concept was because I am not a mother, so I did not notice these ads when I came across them. Also, since these ads are not geared towards me and they also do not catch my attention when I come across them, I am more likely to just keep scrolling or keep shopping instead of paying attention to these ads or items. Also, something I have found frightening about our online environment is that ads will display based on other items you have previously searched for, or clicked on. As an example, when I search for alcohol memes for this class and then later scroll on my Instagram, I now see more alcohol related ads. This shows that ads and memes sometimes display on your feed based on our previous individual searches or posts. Since I am not searching on baby websites or typical mother websites, they are not popping up on my screen. This is a great concern that advertisers pick their audience and prey on their vulnerabilities.
I think we should educate vulnerably populations on “mommy juice” and all the negative consequences that arise when we normalize drinking. Some consequences may be fatigue, and therefore moms may be unable to take care of the child. It is important that mothers are not encouraged to drink and this can be avoided by not displaying numerous advertisements persuading mothers to drink or making mothers feel like drinking is okay, especially when taking care of their children. Alcohol is never a good coping mechanism and if mothers are educated on the negative effect, then they may be less likely to use alcohol to cope. Also, if these “mommy juice” memes, in ads, on clothing and other products were not displayed everywhere, it would prevent mothers who do not drink from starting to use alcohol to cope.
