Why is it always women and not men in: “Soccer mom,” “Tiger mom,” “Helicopter mom,” “Wal-Mart mom,” and “Security mom”?

In connection with my question about the meaning and currency of “Security mom,” I was drawn to the fact that all the following labels; “Soccer mom,” “Wal-Mart mom,” “Security mom” are combined with mom and not dad, although education, consumption, security are common interest for both women and men.

In Japan, we have 主夫 - housekeeping husband. We say 教育ママ、教育パパ- child- education-obssesed mama, papa, and 育児ママ、育児パパ-nursing mama, papa.

Are there any linguistic, cultural or any thinkable factors to suffix “mom” to common or mutual social concerns such as education, politics, occupation, finance, consumption, and lifestyle?

Solution 1:

Why are moms being targeted? Because, as Robusto said, they are an important demographic.

In every election since 1964, female voters have outnumbered male voters. Even though the population of adults eligible for voting is 50% male and 50% female, women vote significantly more often than men. In the 2000 election, women's votes carried 18 of the battleground states.

Therefore the thinking is that the women most likely to vote are the demographic most likely to influence the election. Security dads are a smaller and less important demographis than security moms.

It also must be noted that it is seen as less threatening to label the (voting, as well as other) behaviors of women than men. The stereotype here is that women are single issue voters while men are not.

Solution 2:

Yoichi-san, the moms in question represent a voting or purchasing demographic, a subset of women's influence in America. It is not a literal expression but a figurative one. Advertisers, politicians running for office, pundits bloviating about them, all refer to them by various modifiers as a way to define them for exploitation: mainly, how to win their votes or sell them something. Some women may accept such classification willingly or enthusiastically after the fact, but the categories don't exist until some of the above-mentioned groups create the definition artificially.

It is analogous to Richard Nixon calling his likely voters "the silent majority" in an attempt to position his policies as appealing to those who were not agitating for change: a marketing concept, nothing more.