Got Milf?
Book Review: "Got Milf - The Modern Mom's Guide To Feeling Fabulous, Looking Great, and Rocking a Minivan" by Sarah Maizes
Terminology gets guys in trouble. We make up horrible terms like "butterface": She has a great body but her face is not good
One night at a dinner table at a wedding, I got into an argument with a female guest about terminology I was using. She was asking about my dating escapades and I kept calling females "girls". After a while, she took offense:
"We are not girls, we are women."
I said: "No, I call most females girls. Women are different than girls."
She asked me to explain my terminology for females. I responded:
"Girls are girls until they have a baby. Then they become women."
She asked: "And what do they become after they are moms?"
I said: "Well eventually they become ladies."
She was not satisfied with this explanation, but I really wasn't trying to be insulting. I felt bad about this conversation for a long time until I read Sarah Maizes' Got MILF - The Modern Mom's Guide To Feeling Fabulous, Looking Great, and Rocking a Minivan.
Got MILF is an empowering book for moms, told from Maizes' point of view. The hilarious read is sparked by an episode in which a younger man calls Maizes a "MILF".
For those of you unfamiliar with the term, MILF stands for "Mother I'd Like to F*ck". It's a commonly accepted term considering my friend's favorite porn site is called MILFhunter.com.
It was refreshing to see Maizes take a derogatory term, turn it on its head, and take it in a positive direction. Maizes' stance is: "Damn right I'm a beautiful, strong, sophisticated, attractive mom."
Through my own eyes, I noticed the same type of perception with my older sister. All my life, she was intimidating and powerful, but not in a womanly way. When she had her first baby I said to myself: "Whoa, my older sister suddenly seems like a woman."
Seeing what she has to deal with on a daily basis as she raisses two daughters not only inspires me, but also reminds me of my own weaknesses and how unprepared I am to handle such a challenge.
Maizes' point of view is important for women like my sister, who also went through a period of post-partum depression. She felt unnattractive and lost. I recommended Got MILF to my sister because it was positive, empowering and funny for moms.
My favorite part of the book is Maizes' comparison of MILFs versus Cougars (the term for single older women who hunt for younger men). It's a great discussion on inner beauty versus beauty on the surface.
With Mother's Day around the corner, I think "Got MILF" would be a perfect gift. The book not only turns a pig-headed male term into a positive, but its pages empower moms and women while making the reader laugh.
What are your thoughts on "Got MILF"? Do you agree that it's good that Maizes turned the term around, or are you upset that she wrote a book around such a term?
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Reprinted with Permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.
