I joined the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) at my son’s school a year ago, and the reaction of friends when I tell them never fails to amuse me. It’s almost always a negative response: laughter and groans, followed by concern about how on earth I cope with those mums. I blame the show Motherland for this attitude, plus a side of good old-fashioned sexism.
If you’ve never watched the programme, let me give you a brief synopsis: it’s a sitcom following the trials and tribulations of middle-class parenting in London. Well, to be more specific, it’s about white middle-class parenting, with a focus on the mums (note to the BBC – can we have more working-class family sitcoms please?). It took me a while to get round to watching it, but when I eventually did, it made me smile a couple of times and I loved Tanya Moodie in it.
(Nothing quite like a sprinkle of diversity in a show based in London – one of the most diverse cities in the country. Anyway, I digress.) This is one of many popular programmes that love taking the mickey out of the women on PTAs, and it’s had quite the impact on the way many people view them.
I can’t lie to you – I had no real understanding of what the PTA even was until my eldest started school. My perception was shaped by programmes such as Motherland – to me, it was just this annoying group of stay-at-home mums, high on school power, neglected by their useless husbands , raising money for what I don’t know. And then Alfie started s.
