Katie Britt, Housewife Extraordinaire
The Alabama senator takes mommyism to the next level. And it's making us puke.
I’ve always been allergic to mommyism—the notion that moms are wiser, more intuitive or somehow special—but Sen. Katie Britt’s (R-Ala.) rebuttal speech to President Biden’s State of the Union address made me toss my cookies.
Oh, where to begin? Well, there was the now iconic backdrop for her speech: Her tidy kitchen. What more natural place for a U.S. senator to be! The only thing missing from that cozy picture was Britt appearing on camera in a gingham apron with a batch of freshly baked snickerdoodles. (By the way, the kitchen was pure Americana, with nary an espresso maker or wok in sight.)
The symbolism of the setting was heavy handed, though it paled in comparison to what came out of Britt’s mouth.
After introducing herself to the nation as the senator from Alabama, Britt quickly added: “However, that’s not the job that matters most,” declaring, “I’m a proud wife and mom of two school-aged kids. My daughter Bennett and my son Ridgeway are why I ran for the Senate.”
Got that? She’s one of the most powerful people in the most powerful nation on earth, yet her most important job is wife and mother. (Query: Is that supposed to be comforting to her constituents?) And remember, it was her inner Mama Bear that led her to pursue public office, as if running for the Senate barely edged out being president of the parents association or Cub Scout leader.
Women are very worried about what to cook for dinner
Her schtick is that she’s no different from the carpooling moms out there in the suburbs of America, “many of whom I know will be up tossing and turning at 2:00 a.m. wondering how you’re going to be in three places at once and then somehow still get dinner on the table,” she said. (Who knew stressing about dinner is what’s giving American moms insomnia?)
The message Britt sent was loud and clear, albeit delivered in a breathy whisper: She’s first and foremost a mom—in line with the stay-at-home moms of America who are sacrificing themselves for the sake of the children.
Oh, puh-leeze.
To state the obvious, being a U.S. senator is not the same as being a housewife. Yet, that was what Britt tried to convey—that she’s little ole Suzy Homemaker with a side gig as senator. In fact, Britt’s cohort Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) actually went there, stating that “[Britt] was picked as a housewife, not just a senator” to deliver the rebuttal.
Hillary’s shadow
How embarrassing and disingenuous. So why are Britt and her buddies playing this game? One probable reason is that they’re well-aware that America is still not comfortable with women who wield power. Playing up to traditional gender roles while downplaying ambition is the baseline formula for a woman to be relatable and likable. Sadly, that’s one of the key takeaways from Hillary Clinton’s failed run for president.
Britt is also banking on the myth that being a mom is a superpower. How many times have we heard that mothers make better CEOs, managers, judges, and everything else because they’re more intuitive, empathetic, and authentic? Even diaper-changing is a transformative experience for moms that makes them better leaders, argues a Forbes contributor. It’s the same schmaltzy nonsense about motherhood, now repackaged for the modern career woman.
Both the right and the left promote versions of mommyism but Britt’s problem is that she’s overplayed it. She's an obvious high achiever with buckets of ambition. She became the youngest Republican woman elected to the U.S. Senate at the age of 40 two years ago—and that, I’m sure, didn’t happen just because she’s a very well-organized mom who knows how to juggle it all.
So here’s my advice to Sen. Britt: Stop the hausfrau act. Because no one is buying it. It’s fake and condescending to moms and those who aren’t. (Remember, non-moms are also people in their own right.) You’re an ambitious politician who will do what it takes to scale that mountain of power—and we all know it. Embrace it.
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She reminded me of Phyllis Schlafley who claimed to be a housewife and represented what women really wanted when she literally had a job fighting full-time against the ERA. She sucked too.
Excellent!