CLICK BELOW TO REDISCOVER HUMANITY
A DECADE+ OF STORYTELLING POWERED BY THE BEST WRITERS ON THE PLANET

The Mother Of All Gen Y Trends

generationy

Co-authored by Evan Mitchell, Director, Love & Wine and Co-founder, Gen Y Brand Specialists HOW&Y

“Gen Y” can conjure visions of body piercing and sleeve tattoos, social justice protesting, round-the-world barefoot backpacking, environmental activism, experimental food tastes, cultural/pop cultural/multi-cultural pursuits – stereotypical stuff.

But scratch this generation and you’ll also find an array of counterintuitive characteristics. Take the nature of their partner relationships. The generational tendency towards restless reinvention and recreation of identity might suggest a casualness in their co-habiting practices. But not so, Gen Y are having their kids earlier than Gen X largely did. And, perhaps most surprisingly, more and more Gen Y wives are abandoning the juggling act of career/home-life, for the stay-at-home version of motherhood.

So is this one product category where the marketers have got it right with Gen Y – by sticking to the conventional images and themes?

[message type=”custom” width=”100%” start_color=”#FFFFFF” end_color=”#FFFFFF” border=”#fb7200″ color=”# fb7200″]

Where:
A mother comforts her crying child – applies a bandage – paints on antiseptic – dabs with a tissue…
A mother watches on as a sleeping child snuggles into fabric-softener-softened covers (there’s frequently a fluffy duckling or endearingly clumsy puppy in this one)…
A mother prepares a nutritional snack for her boisterous two and a half kids in the background…
A mother smilingly wipes down benchtops and other unmentionable surfaces, providing a germ-free family environment…
A mother carefully backs out of a driveway, or makes the school drop-off, in a reassuringly safe and sturdy looking SUV… [/message][su_spacer]

With even the personality quirks of mum, clichéd. All vestiges of individuality leeched out – “mother” as an archetype, a model, not a person. (Post-modern critical theorists have blamed this imagery on an evil patriarchy – but really it’s just a decades-long effective selling meme.)

Track record aside, traditional representations of motherhood have overdosed on “nurturing” – with motherhood usurping all other aspects of personality and femininity. Fifty years of homemaker and child-carer messages seem to say, “You are a mother, not only first and foremost, but last and everlastingly.”

Is this an image of motherhood – or more importantly, an image of me-as-mother – that aspirational Gen Y are going to embrace?

Not likely. This is an offense to the single-minded generational claim to “omnipotentiality” – I can be/do anything. Gen Y mothers are not about to cede all other facets of their image and identity to motherhood. They want due consideration of their enduring appeal/seductiveness/aspirations/tastes/individuality/uniqueness/quirkiness. They want it from their partners, and even from their kids, to whom they see themselves as friends, confidantes and co-experiencers. They want it from friends and social media contacts. And they want it big time from any brands that wish to engage with them as mothers.

Motherhood to these Millennials is not a basis of self-renunciation. It’s one more element in their ongoing edginess. Hardly surprising, in a social media atmosphere that stresses minimizing “damage” to the body from pregnancy, and unrealistic races to be back insta-bikini-fit like all those super models, movie stars, reality TV personalities, slashies, and other assorted celebs. With Gen Y and motherhood, image comes first and trumps more intimate aspects of identity.

As femininity has been comprehensively overhauled, so “motherhood” for marketers – in feel, style, aesthetic, role and representation – needs to play catch-up.

Time to bring the motherhood angle up to date – with a remake and remodel.

[message type=”custom” width=”100%” start_color=”#F0F0F0 ” end_color=”#F0F0F0 ” border=”#BBBBBB” color=”#333333″]EVAN MITCHELLEVAN MITCHELL graduated from the University of Sydney with an Honors degree in English Literature and Psychology. He worked as a sommelier and sales performance consultant to the hospitality industry before joining Mitchell Performance Systems (MPS). Evan spent a number of years developing sales performance strategies for leading US consumer products companies. He has co-authored three books with Brian Mitchell, on commercial psychological themes – including the Praeger 2009 publication The Psychology of Wine – and given joint papers at major conferences and festivals. Evan leads the brand creation activities within the MPS company Love & Wine. He also heads up research efforts for the broader Millennial market. He is a director of Love & Wine, and co-founder of How & Y a business specializing in connecting brands with the Gen Y consumer market. Contact: [email protected][/message]

Brian Mitchell
Brian Mitchellhttp://www.howandy.net
Brian Mitchell and Evan Mitchell write extensively on psychological themes, with scores of published articles on three continents. Brian has a clinical Ph.D. and a significant period as a therapist. Evan has Honors degrees in Psychology and English Literature, and also extensive practical experience. They have two published books. The well-reviewed hardcover The Psychology of Wine: truth and beauty by the glass (www.psychologyofwine.com ) – Praeger US (and now in eBook edition) explored the aesthetics of wine and art and their psychological possibilities. This led to the storyline and structure of their upcoming literary thriller The Last Cave, an action narrative of suspense and surprise in the mode of Terry Hayes’ I am Pilgrim. Prior to writing full-time, the pair conducted a successful US consulting operation specializing in negotiation effectiveness. Subsequently extended to generational studies on decision making tendencies by Gens Y and Z in the consumer world and politics.They can be reached through [email protected]

DO YOU HAVE THE "WRITE" STUFF? If you’re ready to share your wisdom of experience, we’re ready to share it with our massive global audience – by giving you the opportunity to become a published Contributor on our award-winning Site with (your own byline). And who knows? – it may be your first step in discovering your “hidden Hemmingway”. LEARN MORE HERE


TAKE STROLL INSIDE 360° NATION

TIME FOR A "JUST BE." MOMENT?

ENJOY OUR FREE EVENTS

BECAUSE WE'RE BETTER TOGETHER