The Cut - Deconstructing the Cool-Mom Myth

Someone told me recently that I seemed like a cool mom. I’ll admit I was flattered at first. Wow, I thought, this person thinks I’m not like other moms — I’m different. Growing up, the coolest mom I knew was my friend Rowena’s. She was a single mom, older, with a blunt-edged haircut that always looked expensively maintained. She worked as a set coordinator on a hit TV show and her house looked like an adult’s (whereas our house looked like adults had briefly tried living there and then just given up). Looking back, the things that made Rowena’s mom seem exciting and fun to an 8-year-old were all the ways in which she stood out from the other mothers. She seemed to exist separately from my idea of what a mom should be: She wasn’t around all the time, she had a full life outside of Rowena, she went to fun parties, and she wore cool jeans.

An Afghan couple has accused a U.S. Marine of abducting their baby. The marine says he “acted admirably” to protect her. Steve Bannon is (maybe) going to prison. The secret ingredient in Kit Kat filling is … Kit Kats. George Clooney knows that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Boris Johnson is looking to be the U.K.’s comeback kid, but we think England should vote for Larry instead. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you probably can’t recycle all you think you can. Joy Behar is perhaps taking spooky season too far. It’s not just in your head: food allergies are on the rise. And that’s it, no more human interaction — dogs only.

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