In this Oct. 14, 2008 file photo, actress Demi Moore, left, daughter Tallulah Belle Willis, center,... 
(AP)
There's no apron, no mom jeans or frump of any kind. These days, it's all about being a "momshell," the latest term used to describe a new generation of bombshell moms.
You can find these moms just about anywhere, in Hollywood, in the White House — probably in the house next door. And now a new reality TV show is on the hunt for the "Hottest Mom in America."
"There's never been a hotter time to be a mom," says Jessica Denay. A mother in Los Angeles, she wrote "The Hot Moms Handbook," one of a number of recent books aimed at women who proudly sport T-shirts, mugs and all kinds of paraphernalia that declare motherhood sexy. Denay also founded the Hot Moms Club, which began as a small group of mom friends eight years ago and has since expanded to an Internet-based social network of more than 110,000.
It's tough to pin down the exact origins of momshell, which began turning up on blogs, Facebook and Twitter with more frequency last fall. The term and "yummy mummy," its equivalent in the UK and Australia, are meant as compliments, nods to moms who find time to take care of themselves while caring for their kids.
In this country, momshell has become the tasteful alternative to a more salacious nickname for hot moms, made famous in the movie "American Pie." We'll stick to the more G-rated versions in this story, but Tina Fey used the naughtier term in her imitation of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who's sometimes included on the seemingly endless number of "top 10" hot mom lists online. Others include Jessica Alba, Demi Moore, Nicole Richie and, more recently, first lady Michelle Obama.
All of it is supposed to be funny and playful, even empowering.
What makes a woman like Michelle Obama a momshell is not just that she's "a beautiful person, inside and out," but that she's also made the sacrifices of motherhood more visible, says Christine Louise Hohlbaum, a mom and author of "The Power of Slow: 101 Ways to Save Time in Our 24/7 World."
