Mum Shares Why Those Funny Wine Memes Need to STOP!

Caitlin Fitzsimmons, mum of two, has taken a swipe at all the wine memes that suggest it is OK for mums to hit the bottle.

Caitlin writes columns about life, money and work for Sydney Morning Herald and has most recently taken aim at all those NOT so funny wine memes.

She writes, “My gripe is with the incessant marketing of wine to women, especially mothers.”

Caitlin continues, “What bothers me most is the way we are doing the wine industry’s marketing for us in the very way we talk to each other, in person and especially online. It’s the “Facebook wine mum” phenomenon. It’s massive in the United States and it’s huge here too.

sprinkle_most expensive part of having kids is wine

“You only have to join a few online parenting groups or be friends with a few fellow mothers for the barrage to start.

“Wine is nicknamed “mummy-juice” or “mummy’s little helper”.

“Memes declare it’s “wine o’clock” alongside comic pictures of wine glasses three times bigger than your head. Photos of babies wearing jumpsuits emblazoned with “I’m the reason Mummy needs wine”. There’s even a viral video of a corkscrew labelled “mummy’s fidget spinner”, panning to a bottle of white wine, that has clocked up more than 24 million views and has its own t-shirt spin-off.

SPRINKLE-to-do-list-open-wine

“Cracking jokes about needing wine seems to be a way to perform motherhood to other women in 2018 Australia. It’s the 40-somethings’ equivalent to younger woman sharing diet tips.”

“I know it’s meant to be a joke but that’s why it’s so insidious; it’s hard to fight back without being called a killjoy. I know I’m a fun friend so I’ll take that risk.”

Caitlin is concerned that it it’s “normalising hidden alcoholism.”

Caitlin adds, “Even when you don’t personally have a problem with alcohol dependency, the “wine mum” trope is perpetuating a culture where alcohol misuse is normal.

“By sharing a meme or making a seemingly harmless joke, you could be enabling your friend’s denial or making it harder for her to deal with a private problem.

“The wine industry is already doing a perfectly good job marketing to women. Let’s not do their job for them and market to ourselves as well.”

Read Caitlin’s full post on SMH HERE

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She makes a pretty good point, don’t you think?

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15 Comments

- - meedee said
  - 16 Nov 2022
    7:43 am
I dont drink as i spent years living with an alcoholic and I know how ugly that can be. I know that more woman drink now then ever before and more woman are having alcohol issues which is sad but removing memes is really not going to change the situation.

- - mom101628 said
  - 03 Jan 2019
    4:21 pm
Think it’s a bit of fun, but can see where you are coming from.

- - mom81879 said
  - 06 Nov 2018
    7:50 am
I’ve never liked wine, maybe thanks to my dad trying to bake us drink his home made wine. I see the memes as a bit of fun though. When has it not been ok to laugh at ourselves?!

- - tessie said
  - 27 Sep 2018
    11:28 am
I haven’t drunk alcohol for over 30 years and even then I only drank if we went out. I did have half a glass of port after my husbands’ funeral a few weeks ago but not really for me.

- - rovermum said
  - 27 Sep 2018
    9:50 am
I’ve never been a wine drinker, and especially not much of an alcohol drinker since becoming a Mum. There’s never any time or excuse, and you can’t parent with a hangover!! I have been surprised by so many of these memes and just ignore them or any commentary attached to it. It’s just not my thing.

- - curlytops said
  - 26 Sep 2018
    8:09 am
I wonder what is the feedback you have received on other platforms.

- - nealsq said
  - 25 Sep 2018
    10:42 pm
Get over it, they are funny not encouraging me to drink at all, chocolate is my love and what I turn to and yes I make a lot of jokes about it but it doesn’t make the people around me rush to the supermarket to buy a truckload. You don’t like it, simple just keep scrolling

- - mom206279 said
  - 25 Sep 2018
    1:59 pm
I hardly ever drink at all. And I don’t ever drink wine. I just ignore most of them. But I have a kid who drives me nuts sometimes. I get why mums feel like they need to day drink on a regular basis.

- - LuckyMum said
  - 25 Sep 2018
    7:26 am
I can see what shes saying but i really think it’s just humour … i’m not sure people drink more because of the memes

- - Ellen said
  - 25 Sep 2018
    7:22 am
It’s just a joke.
Nothing wrong with a wine here and there !

- - mom93821 said
  - 25 Sep 2018
    5:44 am
Not a fan of many memes.

- - mom265671 said
  - 24 Sep 2018
    11:29 pm
I think it’s all in humour, this doesn’t make me want to drink wine

- - Blossom said
  - 24 Sep 2018
    10:33 pm
I agree with the white wine bit. Any red drink including juice or cordial is harder to remove the stains of than what white wine is

- - ashna9 said
  - 24 Sep 2018
    7:56 pm
Personally I think they’re kinda funny.

- - becstalou said
  - 24 Sep 2018
    4:20 pm
There are so many issues people are dealing with privately that we can make worse but I don’t think this will stop anytime soon. For some Mums the acknowledgement that they aren’t the only ones struggling is enough to get them through the day.