Earth Mother: A definition.

[spidermama]

I've been Mumsnetting for 2/3 weeks but so far I've only seen 'Earth Mother' being used as a derogatory term.

It's used to imply a smug, self-satisfied woman who judges others.

However, according to Collins English Dictionary an earth mother is ....

1. a female Goddess considered as the source of fertility and life.
2. the Earth, personified .... or ....
3. a fecund or sensual woman.

Mmm Hmmmm!
I can understand it's not everyone's cup of tea but I, for one, unashamedly aspire to be an earth mother.

People who use it as an insult tend to be jealous that the people they are calling it have beautiful relationships with their own children and those around them

SM, you have only been here 2/3 weeks? Really? The convo about your ds is a dress seems longer ago than that. Just goes to show how quickly you can establish yourself!

Anyway, re earth mother. I don't think of it as a derogatory phrase, but I don't think I would make it as one either. To me, an earth mother is someone serene, someone who takes mothering very calmly and in her stride, doesn't get worked up about parenting, goes with the flow, attracts children to her.... I could go on. Either way, it is definitely not me!

in a dress

It's not quite me either lm, but it's what I'm aiming at.

i'd love to get even half way there! (p.s. excuse my ignorance, but what does fecund mean?)

fecund means fertile I think. Will just check.

fecund: Greatly productive. Fertile. Yummmy. (Not the last one. Made that one up )

i think EM is sometimes used as a derogatory term because of the jealous suspicion that someone who looks like an EM must have a rich dh somewhere in the background, instead of working 24/7 like the rest of us!

For example, how would the source of fertility and life cope with getting three toddlers off to nursery and herself off to a demanding job, paying bills etc half the day while pretending to work, coming home and cleaning up, cooking supper, washing it up, doing bedtime and falling asleep reading a story to the children? She might get a little frazzled, and her fecund sensuality could dip a tad.

oh in that case i fufil one of the criteria!! dh only has to look at me and i fall pregnant

I think of myself as an ap parent - attachment parenting.

I've been called it a lot, but I think more in a casserole for tea, make some crafts, hair needs a brudh and that skirt is awful sort of way!

Quite an accurate description of me too often but then I admit to the washable nappies / make your dinner from scratch approach

oh just saw Spidermama's post: fecund: each one of mine was conceived in one cycle. yep.

I am an Earth Mother

i'd LOVE it if someone called me one - whether in a degoratory sense or not

oh rats, DEROGATORY even (been a long day!)

pmsl, nightynight!

I think an earth mother is someone who is all those things (1., 2., and 3.), and probably tends towards organic homecooked food, too. But a real earth mother, and this is why it is a derogatory term, also wears those awful mock batik trousers that used to be sold at glastonbury a decade back in the previous century.

Message withdrawn

Message withdrawn

Definately sandal wearing oops, dangly earings too.

It does make sense oops but only because we earth mother types (yes I am outing myself) nhave become so self concious in the face of accuations of being smug.

For the record Blu, I did buy the most God-awful pair of tie dye trousers from ebay a couple of months ago but I NEVER wore them. I'm teetering on the extremities.

PMSL I wanna be an earth mother too but as I ahve to go out and earn the crust its dp whos being the earth father (including breadmaking , nappy washing and growing veg (or at least trying to))

blu, i'm afraid i must disagree - they are sold at glastonbury now. dh brought back the baby/child wear versions for dd and ds!

I spose it could be derogatory like "gaudaian reader" can be derogatory. I posted a thread on it, apparently it means long, probably unwashed hair, posh german sandals, mooncup. or something.

it's me to a tee (apart from the mooncup and german sandals. and my hair is clean)