MILF is an acronym that stands for "Mother/Mom/Mama I'd Like to Fuck". The phrase's usage has gone from relatively obscure to mainstream in the media and entertainment.
Contents
Overview
This abbreviation is used in colloquial English—instead of the whole phrase. It connotes a sexually attractive female mother.
The concept of the MILF predates the term itself, as exemplified by Mrs. Robinson in the classic 1967 comedy The Graduate. The term itself was first documented in Internet newsgroups during the 1990s. It was popularized by the 1999 film American Pie, where John Cho's character (simply credited as 'MILF Guy No. 2') used the term to refer to Jennifer Coolidge's character 'Stifler's Mom'.
A 2007 article in New York Magazine stated that evidence 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 The authors of the article went on to ask, "How exactly did a once-taboo erotic fetish become a widespread, culturally sanctioned ideal, a perverse mix of branding and empowerment?"
Similar terms
In the UK, the term yummy mummy is used as well as 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 "Daddy I'd Like to Fuck") or FILF (for "Father I'd Like to Fuck") also exist among women and gay men to refer to a sexually attractive older man.
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 advertising slogan Got Milk. This plate was approved, but it was later canceled after complaints were filed against it.
The 2003 music video for the song "Stacy's Mom" by the group Fountains of Wayne draws on the theme of a MILF in its storyline.
In December 2007, low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines ran a controversial advertising campaign, using MILF to promote their tropical destinations, with 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 for the San Francisco-based company.
A 2014 article in Playboy magazine by Purdue University sex educator and researcher Justin Lehmiller referenced the work of Sigmund Freud and Alfred Kinsey to explain the fascination with the MILF phenomenon.