Soccer Moms

The term soccer mom generally refers to a married, middle-class suburban women with children. Literally, a soccer mom is viewed as driving her children to and from their soccer games in her minivan. Metaphorically, a soccer mom is a woman who is devoted first and foremost to her family's needs and, as a result, puts her children's desires and activities above her own, even if she also has a job. In the early 1980s, the term soccer mom was used by mothers who were raising money for their children's soccer team.

However, the term gained media prominence in Susan Casey's 1995 Democratic campaign for the Denver City Council. When Casey was asked about the term after it became introduced a year later in the ...