I can understand your frustration, but as a non-Jew who loves the Jewdicious posts, I have to say that much of the humor I see about Jewish mothers, mostly from Jewish comics, comes from a place of love. One of the happiest shows on television is "Somebody Feed Phil," and in one of the new season episodes, Fran Drescher tells a joke for Phil's dad. A lot of those jokes tend to feature male/female humor. And let's face it -- gentile women have also been ridiculed and held down, not just in religious circles but also in jobs and society (I saw a 1960s commercial for Folgers coffee this week in which the blonde wife's mission in life was to make her husband a good cup of coffee before he went to work). Perhaps the Jewish mother character will become politically incorrect, like many other stereotypes about women are now, when they would have been accepted a few decades ago. Stereotypes are often the basis of humor, such as Jack Benny being a miser, and as long as it isn't intended as mean-spirited, or in a way that pushes people down (like the blonde wife), I hope we can laugh with each other, not at each other.
Thank you for taking the time to comment; I appreciate the opportunity to have a little back and forth. I think we're in alignment here. First, yes, women tend to be the butt of jokes in many cultures, both Jewish and gentile as you point out. To your point, there are powerful home keeping ads post WW2 when women had to be convinced back into the home, and what terrible people they'd be if their rugs were unclean, hair uncurled...you catch my drift. I hear some hedging toward the end of your piece -- about sterotypes being incorrect, and also maybe lamenting some of the humor we've lost. I watch a lot of classic 80s movies with my kids -- Grease, Footloose, Gremlins, and YOWZA is some of this stuff outdated. And I loved them. And they're outdated and cringier and it almost pains me to see them through my now current eyes. Ditto this for a lot of music lyrics as my 9 year old daughter grows into puberty. So yes, the things we loved sometimes need to be seen with fresh eyes -- inclusive, appreciative, evolved. The Jewish Mother stereotype sometimes came from love, and if you read the next comment, sometimes it created a lot of pain. Thanks again for the back-and-forth, Ken.
And sorry - that last comment was removed. Some folks find talking about the Jewish Mothers triggering. Lets face it, some talk of mothers is triggering, as is talk of fathers. I'm just asking us to consider an update to the Jewish Mother stereotype. We can do better.
Thanks, Allison. I'm reconsidering my opinion because, as I've learned, the last people who understand the pain caused by stereotyping or bigotry are the people who are not being stereotyped or facing bigotry.
Amen my ally! And sometimes even we don't even know it when we're doing it to ourselves, or our mothers, until we suddenly say -- scratch on the turntable -- wait, that really loving way I used to joke with my mom? Feels a little limited. And underestimating what I / we are doing. Update, please? Yours in Gal Gadot high fives and a Golda hug.
WELL SAID, Allison.
Allison Task = Bold and Class.
I can understand your frustration, but as a non-Jew who loves the Jewdicious posts, I have to say that much of the humor I see about Jewish mothers, mostly from Jewish comics, comes from a place of love. One of the happiest shows on television is "Somebody Feed Phil," and in one of the new season episodes, Fran Drescher tells a joke for Phil's dad. A lot of those jokes tend to feature male/female humor. And let's face it -- gentile women have also been ridiculed and held down, not just in religious circles but also in jobs and society (I saw a 1960s commercial for Folgers coffee this week in which the blonde wife's mission in life was to make her husband a good cup of coffee before he went to work). Perhaps the Jewish mother character will become politically incorrect, like many other stereotypes about women are now, when they would have been accepted a few decades ago. Stereotypes are often the basis of humor, such as Jack Benny being a miser, and as long as it isn't intended as mean-spirited, or in a way that pushes people down (like the blonde wife), I hope we can laugh with each other, not at each other.
Ken,
Thank you for taking the time to comment; I appreciate the opportunity to have a little back and forth. I think we're in alignment here. First, yes, women tend to be the butt of jokes in many cultures, both Jewish and gentile as you point out. To your point, there are powerful home keeping ads post WW2 when women had to be convinced back into the home, and what terrible people they'd be if their rugs were unclean, hair uncurled...you catch my drift. I hear some hedging toward the end of your piece -- about sterotypes being incorrect, and also maybe lamenting some of the humor we've lost. I watch a lot of classic 80s movies with my kids -- Grease, Footloose, Gremlins, and YOWZA is some of this stuff outdated. And I loved them. And they're outdated and cringier and it almost pains me to see them through my now current eyes. Ditto this for a lot of music lyrics as my 9 year old daughter grows into puberty. So yes, the things we loved sometimes need to be seen with fresh eyes -- inclusive, appreciative, evolved. The Jewish Mother stereotype sometimes came from love, and if you read the next comment, sometimes it created a lot of pain. Thanks again for the back-and-forth, Ken.
And sorry - that last comment was removed. Some folks find talking about the Jewish Mothers triggering. Lets face it, some talk of mothers is triggering, as is talk of fathers. I'm just asking us to consider an update to the Jewish Mother stereotype. We can do better.
Thanks, Allison. I'm reconsidering my opinion because, as I've learned, the last people who understand the pain caused by stereotyping or bigotry are the people who are not being stereotyped or facing bigotry.
Amen my ally! And sometimes even we don't even know it when we're doing it to ourselves, or our mothers, until we suddenly say -- scratch on the turntable -- wait, that really loving way I used to joke with my mom? Feels a little limited. And underestimating what I / we are doing. Update, please? Yours in Gal Gadot high fives and a Golda hug.