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Kathryn Hahn and Amy Poehler on the 'Good Hang with Amy Poehler' podcast.
"There’s a cougar-y vibe," Hanh said.
Agatha All Along star and sapphic fave Kathryn Hahn joined Amy Poehler to give everyone a lesson on the terms ‘Mother’ and ‘MILF,’ and you’ll never get a better education.
While promoting her new show The Studio, Hahn appeared on the April 15 episode of the Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast, and the comedy legends talked about everything from having dance parties together on the set of Parks and Recreation to Hahn being embraced by the LGBTQ+ community.
After talking about the beauty standards in Hollywood that are especially “treacherous” for women as they age, Poehler said that Hahn has entered her “Mother phase,” as queer fans have taken to caller frequently calling her “Mother.”
“You’re Mother Hahn,” Poehler said, per Pink News.
Poehler attributed the queer community’s love of Hahn to the cultural impact of Marvel shows like Agatha All Alone and WandaVision which had fanbases “led primarily by gay men, but not just gay men.”
“And young gay women,” Hahn said, not forgetting the sapphics who love her, and went wild for her character Agatha Harkness sharing a lesbian kiss with Aubrey Plaza.
“They’re deciding to be like just ’Mother’ and that feels like you’re being anointed,” Poehler said.
Then school was in session as the two women defined terms for the audience.
Hanh likened “Mother” to Anne Bancroft’s character Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate. “That’s what it feels like. There’s a cougar-y vibe.”
Poehler agreed and said that she thinks “it’s a way to compliment someone’s wisdom and fortitude while still making them feel sexy."
There’s something that feels sexy about it, because it’s very dom. It’s very, like, she will crush you. It’s a little bit like ‘Mother'” The Saturday Night Live alum then added: “But also, there’s a reverence to it, like a respect. There’s like a loving respect.”
Then, proving that the Poehler has a handle on her LGBTQ+ history, she broke down where the term originated, “It goes back to the Houses and all the queer culture back — who were creating their own community and family.”
“I love it, it moves me so much,” Hahn said.
Poehler pointed out that it used to be that once an actress hit their 50s, they would “be on the way out” and not seen as “vital” anymore, but things are changing.
Both women agreed they hate the term “MILF,” which has a different connotation than “Mother.”
Not one to mince word, Hahn succinctly laid out why the acronym is terrible, “It’s a porn term probably by a lot of young men that have a fetish for f*cking older women,” she said.
“It just feels like from the dude’s point of view in a gross, porny way,” Hahn continued, saying that “Mother” feels more “respected.”
“It feels more gay-adjacent, queer-adjacent,” Poehler said.
“I love the very young queer women that loved Agatha All Along. That was such a huge part of our audience that was very, very moving,” Hahn explained before Poehler reminded her that it was the first Marvel show to feature a gay kiss.
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.
