Motherhood, diet culture and intergenerational conflict in the #almondmom archetype on TikTok

Abstract

The #almondmom trend on TikTok offers a sharp critique of diet culture and the complex intergenerational dynamics surrounding food and health. Sparked by a viral clip of Yolanda Hadid advising her daughter Gigi to ‘chew a couple of almonds’, this trend gave rise to a new maternal archetype: the ‘almond mom’. ‘Almond moms’ are defined by strict dieting behaviours and the imposition of health practices on their families, reflecting societal pressures on women’s health and bodies. Through satirical skits and impressions, TikTok users examine and challenge these dynamics, exposing intergenerational tensions around food and health. This article situates the #almondmom trend within two scholarly frameworks: (1) motherhood, memes and cultural archetypes, and (2) foodwork, the ‘third shift’ and maternal responsibilisation. Employing multimodal discourse analysis of 80 popular TikToks under the hashtag, the study identifies four dominant digital templates driving this trend’s narrative. These templates illuminate the ‘almond mom’ as both a critique of gendered subjectivities and a reflection of shifting generational attitudes towards health.