A scroll through social media comments will reveal instances of “mother” or “she’s mothering” in replies that have seemingly no relation to moms. Don’t worry — we’re here to decipher the Gen Z slang and give you a history lesson on how “mother” became a superlative worthy of a queen.
The origin is not so far off from the dictionary definition of mother: “a woman in relation to her child or children.” In the 1970s, the drag performers Crystal La Beija and Lottie LaBeija founded drag balls, events where performers would walk the runway in various fashion and culture-related categories. The performers formed “houses,” where all the members were under the tutelage of one “mother.” As some of these young LGBTQ+ drag performers had been kicked out of or left their biological families, their newly formed families and mothers provided necessary support. Crystal La Beija was the founding mother of the House of LaBeija, and Pepper LaBeija, the subject of Paris Is Burning, the award-winning documentary film about Harlem drag ball culture, followed her.
While “mother” began in the Harlem ball scene, it soon spread through drag culture. Many drag performers use “mother” to affectionately refer to the real-life folks who inspired them and/or their personas. These are traditionally female performers with a large gay fanbase — Judy Garland, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Beyoncé, and more. In recent years, Emmy-winning TV sensation RuPaul’s Drag Race has used the pageant format of the Harlem drag balls for its runway segments, and the contestants on the show often call host RuPaul “mother” because of her influence in the drag community. RuPaul has embraced the title with a hit dance song, “Call Me Mother.”
But the social media “mothers” aren’t exclusively from drag queens. In recent years, the slang has leapt into the Gen Z lexicon as a way to express affection and respect for all kinds of women. If someone is demonstrating a particular level of fierceness or elegance that looks like it could belong on the runway, you might say, “She mothered so hard with this one,” or give a succinct “mother” as a sign of your appreciation or admiration.
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