Hot moms are in

Posted in Mom Stuff
by Lorain County Moms

By Aisha Sultan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Cheryl Levine’s first pole dancing recital coincided with her children’s bake sale and a Jewish holiday.

So, she spent Saturday night showing off her leg twists, back bends and spins in rather sexy undergarments, followed by dancing with a Torah (in much more modest attire) at the Simchat Torah celebration the next night.

In between, she made cookies and helped run the bake sale with her 5- and 7-year-old daughters.

Levine, 42, is an instructor at a new dedicated pole dancing studio in the area, the Michelle Mynx Academy of Pole Dance, and teaches a class marketed specifically for moms. It’s called Hot Moms.

“I think it’s really important that women understand that sexuality and motherhood are not mutually exclusive,” said owner Michelle Mynx.

From plastic surgeons offering “Mommy Makeover” packages of tummy tucks, breast implants and liposuction, to rock star moms such as Christina Aguilera and Madonna, the image of mothers is sexier than ever.

Television moms evolved from June Cleaver to Carol Brady to Claire Huxtable as the women’s movement began and marched forward. Today’s TV moms include slightly less wholesome portrayals such as Internet stripper Niki Sanders on “Heroes” and suburban pot dealer Nancy Botwin on “Weeds.”

And while the portrayal of mothers has evolved, many moms are embracing a sexier image of themselves.

One area mom, who did not want to use her name, attended the first Hot Moms class recently. She said she’s glad she got over her hang-ups and came.

“I turned 40 and freaked out,” she said. “I want to enjoy sex and my body, and that’s why I’m here.”

Veronica Theodoro, 36, of St. Louis, and mother of two young children says she sees a double-edged sword with the culture’s new fascination with mommies as lust-worthy.

“We feel a lot more pressure as mothers to look good and lose weight,” she said. She hired a personal trainer after each of her two children were born to get back into her pre-baby clothes as quickly as possible. “I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing,” she said. “But, it does put pressure on women at the same time.”

E. Ann Kaplan, professor of English at Stony Brook University, has written “Motherhood and Representation: The Mother in Popular Culture and Melodrama.” She wonders if today’s oversexualization of mothers plays into traditional assumptions about gender.

“I suspect that eroticizing mothers is not really in the best interest of women,” she said.

When women are expected to look like Heidi Klum two months postpartum, is that empowering? Or does this objectify mothers to the benefit of male fantasy and create unrealistic expectations? Kaplan asked.

Levine, who worked in commodities on the Chicago Trading Floor and has a master’s degree in art therapy, says she is not celebrating a cultural movement in which tween daughters and their mothers both aspire to look like Pussycat Dolls.

“This class is about building strength,” she said. “Your sexiness is going to come from feeling strong.”

Savvy marketers and entrepreneurs have capitalized on the image of becoming a sexy mommy.

Ola Hawatmeh, 32, founder of Mom Me Makeover in St. Louis, has three children, ages 5, 7 and 9. She says her business, which she started two years ago, gives mothers makeovers to help them “feel good inside and out.”

About 500 clients have used her service to change their image.

“I don’t think it adds pressure, because looking good is not a task,” she said. “It should be an everyday routine.”

Carri Marlow, 36, mother of a 2- and 4-year-old, organizes a Chesterfield stay-at-home moms group. They plan weekly moms’ nights out, like dinners and movies, and once or twice a year they do a StripFit party through the Clayton Fitness Center.

“They teach you a little chair dance; it’s sexy but it’s not dirty,” she said. Still, she realizes this sort of gathering is a far cry from how their mothers would socialize.

“It’s much different from when our moms were moms,” she said.