MILF

History

Linguist Laurel A. Sutton states that MILF was one of nine terms for "attractive women" collected from undergraduates at a large linguistics class at Berkeley in the spring of 1992. Typical users would be "college students from East Contra Costa, California". The term was widely popularized by the film American Pie (1999), where John Cho's character (simply credited as "MILF Guy No. 2") used the term to refer to Jennifer Coolidge's character Jeanine Stifler. American Pie screenwriter Adam Herz clarified that he did not invent the phrase.

A 2007 article in New York magazine stated the evidence that the term had become mainstream included "25,000-plus MILF-branded mugs and tees on Café Press to a rash of hot-mama books (The Hot Mom's Handbook, Confessions of a Naughty Mommy, The MILF Anthology), television shows (Desperate Housewives, The Real Housewives of Orange County, the forthcoming contest "Hottest Mom in America", and a pilot in development called MILF & Cookies), and, of course, a concomitant porn genre".

Some media outlets found the expression offensive to women, and suggested replacing it with WHIP, coined by Bibi Lynch, which stands for "women who are hot, intelligent and in their prime".

Similar terms

The term yummy mummy is also used along with MILF. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term as "an attractive and stylish young mother".

Although not yet as widespread in popular culture at large, the forms DILF (for "dad/daddy I'd like to fuck") or FILF (for "father I'd like to fuck") are used among androphiles to refer to a sexually attractive older man who is likely a father.

The terms GILF (for "granny I'd like to fuck") and silver fox refer to attractive, highly-sexual older women (55+), regardless of child-bearing status.

In popular culture

In 2002, a resident of the U.S. state of Washington applied for a vanity license plate reading "GOTMILF", a parody of the "Got Milk?" advertising slogan. This plate was approved (the applicant claimed MILF meant "manual inline lift fluctuator"), but it was later cancelled after complaints were filed against it.

In December 2007, low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines ran a controversial advertising campaign, using MILFs to promote their tropical destinations, based on a different acronym: "Many Islands, Low Fares". In January 2009, Spirit ran the campaign again.

In 2013, an apparel company, True & Co., parodied the phrase in advertising for its line of brassieres, converting it to "Mom I'd Like to Fit". The campaign garnered negative attention.

SMILF is an American comedy television series starring, created, written and directed by Frankie Shaw on Showtime. It is based on Shaw's short film of the same title. The series' name, SMILF, is a play on the term "MILF", with the "S" standing for "single" or "Southie" (a nickname for South Boston, Massachusetts), or both.

In 2016, Fergie released the song "M.I.L.F. $" as well as an accompanying video featuring numerous famous mothers.

The 2018 French comedy film MILF is about three childhood friends who become MILFs, seducing three young men.

References

References

1. "MILF, Definition of MILF in English by Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford University Press.
2. Press, Cambridge University. (10 April 2008). "Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary". Cambridge University Press.
3. "MILF Meaning". Cambridge University Press.
4. Dash, Rajendra Kumar. (1 December 2015). "Professional Learner'S Dictionary of Spoken English". PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd..
5. Dalzell, Tom. (25 July 2008). "The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English". Routledge.
6. (1995). "Gender Articulated: Language and the Socially Constructed Self". Routledge.
7. "John Cho: John, 'MILF' Guy #2".
8. Bonner, Mehera. (October 31, 2011). "Flashback Video: Jennifer Coolidge as a MILF in American Pie".
9. Yahr, Emily. (January 30, 2023). "The story behind 'MILF Manor,' the reality show that seems like a fever dream". Washington Post.
10. Em & Lo. (24 October 2007). "Of MILF and Men". [[New York (magazine).
11. Ruiz, Michelle. (28 August 2017). "This Just In: WHIPs Are the New MILFs". Vogue.
12. Hosie, Rachel. (29 August 2017). "WHIPs: The new empowering acronym to take on MILFs". The Independent.
13. "yummy mummy". Oxford University Press.
14. Mills, Simon. (27 April 2016). "How to Be a DILF". [[GQ]].
15. (18 May 2022). "Dating an older woman". The Montreal Times.
16. (21 July 2004). "End of Road For GOTMILF License Plate". the smoking gun.
17. (15 August 2008). "Fort Lauderdale's Spirit in the sky". anna.aero.
18. "Over the Line?".
19. (2 May 2013). "Lingerie chain's 'MILF'-themed ad campaign sparks anger". Daily News.
20. Petski, Denise. (August 8, 2017). "'White Famous' & 'SMILF' Get Premiere Dates On Showtime – TCA".
21. Barsanti, Sam. (11 May 2017). "The 'S' stands for 'single' in new Showtime comedy SMILF".
22. (November 12, 2007). "The Southie in 'SMILF,' a Very Boston Comedy".
23. Van Amburg, Jessie. (July 5, 2016). "Fergie, Chrissy Teigen, Ciara and Other Moms Just Redefined 'MILF'".
24. Stone, Natalie. (July 1, 2016). "Watch Fergie's "M.I.L.F. $" Music Video Featuring Kim Kardashian, Ciara".
25. (29 June 2018). "'MILF': Film Review".