The rise of the anti-vaccine Mama Bear

[View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter]( November 4, 2021 Hello! Kiera Butler here. I cover the pandemic for Mother Jones. I've written before about the partisan dimensions of the anti-vaccine movement, and earlier this week we observed in real time just how powerful a political force it has become. Let me explain. In his victory speech on Tuesday night, Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin expressed gratitude to all the usual suspects—campaign volunteers, colleagues, and voters. But afterward, as he made his way through the crowd at his campaign headquarters, Youngkin thanked another group: “Way to go, mama bears!” he [said](. “You guys were awesome.” Youngkin wasn’t just referring to a casual group of women supporters, the soccer moms of his campaign. In the days leading up to the election, conservative Virginia moms coalesced around the phrase “mama bear,” scrawling it on signs in support of the governor and posting it as a hashtag on social media. Virginians aren’t the only ones who have recently embraced this term, which refers to fiercely protective mothers determined to shield their cubs from harm. Nationwide, it has gained a particular political dimension: Self-described mama bears rail against what they perceive as government overreach in matters that concern children. But the mama bears are not up in arms about every issue that threatens children—they don’t advocate gun control, for example, or decry air pollution near schools. The particular constellation of conservative causes that unites them is very specific. Mama bears want to banish [critical race theory]( and LGBTQ-friendly books from the school curriculum. They oppose accommodations for transgender students, and [abhor vaccine and mask mandates](. There isn't (yet) an official mama bear organization—it's more like a rallying cry or a set of code words. But its pervasiveness is unmistakable. The hashtag is all over social media. There's a [book]( (Mama Bear Apologetics: Empowering Your Kids to Challenge Cultural Lies). You can buy T-shirts that say #mamabear from multiple sellers on [Etsy](, alongside other shirts that say “Make vaccine manufacturers liable again” and “Don’t blame me, I voted for Trump.” You can read about how Youngkin’s campaign seized upon the growing power of the mama bear movement in more detail in my post [here](. But here's the big takeaway: By setting up liberals in opposition to parents, the right has found a powerful way to whip up supporters. Fights over curriculum and masks will only intensify. With a victory in Virginia now secure, the approval of the Pfizer COVID vaccine for young children has come just in time for the newest front in the anti-vaccine mama bears’ culture wars. —Kiera Butler P.S. Our fall fundraising push ends tomorrow, we have a $63,000 gap to fill, and we can't afford to come up short. If you can right now, [please support the reporting you get in the Mother Jones Daily with a donation of any amount]( to help us finish our fundraising drive on track. Advertisement [Prescott College]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [Were the Ultra-Conservative “Mama Bears” Youngkin’s Secret Weapon?]( “We anticipate seeing the same effects throughout the 2022 midterm cycle." BY KIERA BUTLER SPONSORED POST [Sponsored Content]( [Our Climate Faces Catastrophe. But High-Quality Carbon Offsets Are Showing Results.]( Offsets are helping global communities in need. THIS CONTENT WAS PAID FOR AND SPONSORED BY [COOL EFFECT](. [Trending] [The man who called bullshit on Uber]( BY NOAH LANARD [New York cabbies' hunger strike ends with a huge victory]( BY NOAH LANARD [These 10 publishers spread most of the climate lies on Facebook, study says]( BY KARI PAUL [The UN's big climate summit is ignoring a giant red flag]( BY TOM PHILPOTT Advertisement [Prescott College]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [The Legal War Against Mother Jones Keeps Getting More Intense]( You can do a lot of damage to the independent press by tying it up in court. BY MONIKA BAUERLEIN [Urgent Fundraising Request] Our fall fundraising drive is off to a rough start, and we very much need to raise $250,000 in the next couple of weeks. If you value the journalism you get from Mother Jones, please help us do it with a donation today. We can't afford to come up short, and there's still a long way to go by November 5. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755