The History of the Term “Soccer Mom”

Susan Casey, in 1995, used the word ‘soccer mom’ for the first time during a election for a spot on the Denver City Council. Her slogan, “a soccer mom for City Council”, became anonymous with a lifestyle of taking care of children and still having a professional life. She even claimed that she was a soccer mom and a neighbor, not just a politician.

Her use of the slogan presented that accomplished women were able to not only run family and a profession, but were also able to give their children the time and advantages the other parents were able to. Ms. Casey won the election with over 51% of the votes in the slogan became synonymous with not only people of the Denver area but also other areas around the country.

During the 1996 Republican National Convention, the term became a nationwide phenomenon. Alex Castellanos, a media adviser to Bob Dole, presented to the nation that Bill Clinton was using the demographics of soccer moms to win the election. The media adviser defined the word soccer mom as “to be overburdened middle income working mother who transports their children to soccer practice, to scouts to, and school.” As the election drew near media interests took more stock in the term soccer mom and began to use the word and many news reports, news articles, and television coverage. The demographics of soccer moms took on specifics of their own including what the soccer mom drove, how she voted, and other attributes that define this lady of ambition.