As footage of ICE violence continues to draw mass protests across the US, conservative outlets are shifting attention away from state brutality and toward a familiar scapegoat: politically active women.
The victim-blaming rhetoric can be seen in Fox News’ reporting, where one opinion columnist claims that “organised gangs of wine moms” are responsible for state violence.
The column then goes on to cite an unspecified poll, claiming white women are the largest demographic to “believe that it is acceptable to go beyond peaceful protest in response to ICE enforcement,” before asking readers if perhaps this is because white women listen “to too many true crime podcasts”.
This opinion piece is one example of a common narrative being pushed by conservative supporters, echoing the Trump administration’s attempt to justify the shooting in Minneapolis of Renee Nicole Good by labeling her a “domestic terrorist” that “willfully and viciously” tried to run over an ICE agent.
Democratic officials, experts and everyday US citizens argue that the official footage released of the shooting reveals it was unjustified and that ICE’s actions in the state and nationwide are unconstitutional.
As residents are being urged to document the forceful tactics of ICE agents in their communities, there’s been a growing number of videos capturing violence that women have experienced, including being yanked from their cars, shoved, pepper sprayed and, tragically, in Good’s case, shot.
When it comes to the rhetoric blaming “wine moms” for this increased violence, many women are taking to social media to share an opinion on the matter.
One woman in Minneapolis, Adriana Goblirsh, called the ‘wine mom’ label “hilarious”, saying: “Women have always been told the same thing, especially moms. ‘Stay home, be polite, don’t get involved, don’t ask questions, be pretty and don’t pay attention’.
“Here’s the problem with that,” she adds. “Mothers do notice. We notice when our neighbours are afraid to leave their homes. We notice when our schools and daycares are asking for ICE protocols. And boy do we notice when real families are being impacted while the rest of the world looks past it.”
“History has been very clear about this. Women have been the center of the change from revolutions to civil rights movements, when women and mothers show up, things shift.”
Another woman, Brittney, who runs an online group called ‘Moms for Oregon’ shared a post saying: “You know they’re scared when they’re trying to demonize ‘gangs of wine moms’.”
“When the caricature they’ve created doesn’t match the people they’re seeing who are standing up against them—that makes them nervous.”
Across social media, groups of women and businesses have been reclaiming the ‘organised gangs of wine moms’ label in humorous and strategic ways to bring people together to support community safety and protest fascism.
“What’s the point of being a member of the organized gang of wine moms group thingy if we’re not having wine and snacks and protest sign making parties?,” one bookstore in Pennsylvania said on Instagram to advertise a political event.
While the ‘wine moms’ label seems to be the latest in the conservative media’s narrative, it’s certainly not the first time they’ve pointed fingers at women getting politically involved.
One journalist on Bluesky, Judah Grunstein, pointed out the comparison to the 2024 presidential election, saying: “The pivot from childless cat ladies to terrorist wine moms was pretty seamless, I’d say.”