ABSTRACT
The affluent suburban stay- at-home “soccer mom” has been part of the popular imagination in the United States since gaining currency in the media in the 1990s (Swanson 2009a, 2009b). She dutifully and selflessly spends hours carting her children to soccer and various other activities in her minivan or SUV. Like most stereotypes, this characterization is overgeneralized, but there is also some truth in it. Many real moms in both affluent and less advantaged families have encouraged and supported their kids’ sports participation. However, the stereotype fails to capture the diversity of women’s parental roles and the different ways they are involved in their children’s sports. It also tells us little about how their kids experience sports.
