The rise of the “Glamma”: Why do boomer grandparents insist on having such unique names?
In recent years, we've seen the rise of the "Glamma," a moniker for "glamorous grandmas."
As the name implies, Glammas consider themselves a cut above the usual grandparent. They strive to be youthful and "down with the kids," and apparently, as part of that, they want a special grandparent name.
What's a Glamma, anyway?
Someone who knows about this first-hand is TikToker Catherine (@aladywholovespplfr). Also known as "Catherine Hates Boomers," the content creator frequently shares what can be considered anti-boomer content to her 12,300 followers. And this time around, it's all about grandparent names.
"Boomers are obsessed with unique grandma names because they have to keep one-upping each other, okay?" she began. "It started from a kid mispronouncing a word, but now your friend's going by Yaya. You can't be Grandma, okay? You gotta be Twinkle." She finishes the thought with, "You gotta be a step above."
Catherine then went on to explain how she experienced this with her own mother, who "insisted" on having a unique grandparent name. She says that while she offered to teach the child anything she wanted, her mother wanted her son to pick.
@aladywholovespplfr Replying to @dandelion_chaser boomers as grandparents #glamma #boomers #millennials #grandparents #toxicfamily #nocontact #coworkers ♬ original sound - Catherine Hates Boomers
"You want me to explain to an infant that he has to bestow a unique moniker onto his grandmother, just f****** tell me what you want to be called," she said. "You can be any crazy f****** thing you want, okay? I do not give a f***, but he's gonna call you whatever I call you, so just tell me what it should be."
She then recounted how her aunt goes by Dow because that's what the oldest grandchild calls her, and added that her mom "needed the same kind of story."
"So she was like, 'No, just let him pick,'" she concluded. "I was like, 'Okay, then I'm just gonna call you Grandma. And chances are he's gonna end up calling you Grandma too.' And then she got all pissy when he learned to f***ing say, Grandma. Okay, so that's probably why she hates me."
When reached via email, Catherine told the Daily Dot, "Boomers live to one-up each other; it's pretty much their only hobby. It amuses me to watch them scheme up new ways to be better than their friends."
Commenters shared their own unique grandparent names
In the comments, TikTok users shared their own opinions on this use: "My mom spent my entire 1st pregnancy deciding what she wanted to be called & settled on Gimmie," one wrote.
"Friend's mom wanted to be Nana Mary because HER friend MARY was called that by her grandkids, and [my] friend's mom thought it was pretty," another shared. "Friend's mom's name was NOT in fact Mary."
While a third claimed: "I know people who have parents who insisted on being Honey and Lovey instead of Grandma."
Meanwhile, a fourth shared: "As a photographer, this drives me insane. In extended family sessions, I’m like 'Okay, kids, let’s all hug on Grandma' and then they’re offended like 'Actually, they call me Toot Toot, and my husband is Dingle Dangle!' Yeah, I’m not saying those words."
Catherine didn't immediately respond to the Daily Dot's request for comment via TikTok comment and email.
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