History Main / Mammy

* Deconstructed with Nell from ''Series/GimmeABreak'', as this trope was a hard sell in the early 80's when the Mammy archetype was long outdated. She was initially the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and mother-figure to his three teenage daughters, but she was a friend of their late mother ''before'' taking the job. And since she's the central character, she is shown with her own friends, family, and dating life. When the Chief's actor Dolph Sweet passed away between Seasons 4 and 5, TheCharacterDiedWithHim and the show was {{retool}}ed to focus more on Nell. Eventually the daughters were written out as they moved on with their adult lives, and in the final season Nell moved to New York City and took a desk job at a publishing company.[[note]]At one point late in the 6th season, Nell visited the youngest daughter at her college. The showrunners considered having Nell take a job at the girl's boardinghouse as the House Mom, but it was decided to instead have her leave domestic work altogether to be more in line with the growing trend of sitcoms focusing on Black professionals.[[/note]] In fact, this trope was lampshaded as early as the third season when Nell's friend Addy, a college professor, appears at the family house and meets the daughters. She tells them that she's proud to have a successful career and to show the world that black women aren't just "a bunch of Aunt Jemimas"...and in walks Nell [[InstantlyProvenWrong carrying a basket of laundry while wearing a kerchief]].

* Deconstructed with Nell from ''Series/GimmeABreak'', as this trope a hard sell in the early 80's when the Mammy archetype was considered long outdated. She was initially the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and mother-figure to his three teenage daughters, but she was a friend of their late mother ''before'' taking the job. And since she's the central character, she is shown with her own friends, family, and dating life. When the Chief's actor Dolph Sweet passed away between Seasons 4 and 5, TheCharacterDiedWithHim and the show was {{retool}}ed to focus more on Nell. Eventually the daughters were written out as they moved on with their adult lives, and in the final season Nell moved to New York City and took a desk job at a publishing company.[[note]]At one point late in the 6th season, Nell visited the youngest daughter at her college. The showrunners considered having Nell take a job at the girl's boardinghouse as the House Mom, but it was decided to instead have her leave domestic work altogether to be more in line with the growing trend of sitcoms focusing on Black professionals.[[/note]] In fact, this trope was lampshaded as early as the third season when Nell's friend Addy, a college professor, appears at the family house and meets the daughters. She tells them that she's proud to have a successful career and to show the world that black women aren't just "a bunch of Aunt Jemimas"...and in walks Nell [[InstantlyProvenWrong carrying a basket of laundry while wearing a kerchief]].

* Aunt Jemima from the Quaker Oats Company's brand, primarily their line of pancake mixes and syrup, was originally a character from MinstrelShows in the late 1800's and became one of the longest advertising trademarks in American history. After the 1960's and 70's saw massive changes in how African-Americans were treated and represented in the media, Jemima was redesigned in the early '80's to nix the "Mammy" imagery, giving her a natural hairstyle and pearls to insinuate that she is a homemaker rather than a servant. But in 2021, following the race riots the year before, Quaker retired Aunt Jemima and rechristened the line after its original parent, the Pearl Milling Company. While some decried the change as PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad since Aunt Jemima had been portrayed tastefully for over 30 years, there was no undoing her racist origins, and Quaker thought it best to finally put the brand behind them.

* Aunt Jemima from the Quaker Oats Company's brand, primarily their line of pancake mixes and syrup, was originally a character from MinstrelShows in the late 1800's and became one of the longest advertising trademarks in American history. After the 1960's and 70's saw massive changes in how African-Americans were treated and represented in the media, Jemima was redesigned in the early '80's to nix the "Mammy" imagery, giving her a natural hairstyle and pearls to insinuate that she is a homemaker rather than a servant. In 2021, following the race riots the year before, Quaker retired Aunt Jemima and rechristened the line after its original parent, the Pearl Milling Company. While some decried the change as PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad since Aunt Jemima had been portrayed tastefully for over 30 years, there was no undoing her racist origins, and Quaker thought it best to finally put the brand behind them.

* Aunt Jemima from the Quaker Oats Company's brand; was originally a character from MinstrelShows. Her '80s design nixed the "Mammy" imagery, giving her a natural hairstyle and pearls to insinuate that she is a homemaker. In 2021, following the race riots the year before, Quaker finally retired Aunt Jemima, and rechristened the line after its original parent, the Pearl Milling Company.
* Mrs. Butterworth, the pancake syrup mascot. Since the 70s, she has only been shown as the animated bottle in an attempt to tone down the inherent racism of the stereotype. Of course, this remains somewhat debatable, given the character's consistent portrayal by white actors going all the way back to male comedian Cliff Arquette in the very first (and only live-action) appearance. [=ConAgra=], owners of the brand since 2018, indicate that the bottle design was intended to represent [[https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2020/06/17/mrs-butterworths-syrup-packaging-review-aunt-jemima-racial-bias/3209566001/ a loving grandmother]], but that they understand the problem and will review their branding.

* Deconstructed with Nell from ''Series/GimmeABreak'', as this trope a hard sell in the early 80's when the Mammy archetype was considered long outdated. She was initially the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and mother-figure to his three teenage daughters, but she was a friend of their late mother ''before'' taking the job. And since she's the central character, she is shown with her own friends, family, and dating life which are often plot points. When the Chief's actor Dolph Sweet passed away between Seasons 4 and 5, TheCharacterDiedWithHim and the show was {{retool}}ed to focus more on Nell. Eventually the daughters were written out as they moved on with their adult lives, and in the final season Nell moved to New York City and took a desk job at a publishing company.[[note]]At one point late in the 6th season, Nell visited the youngest daughter at her college. The showrunners considered having Nell take a job at the girl's boardinghouse as the House Mom, but it was decided to instead have her leave domestic work altogether to be more in line with the growing trend of sitcoms focusing on Black professionals.[[/note]] In fact, this trope was lampshaded as early as the third season when Nell's friend Addy, a college professor, appears at the family house and meets the daughters. She tells them that she's proud to have a successful career and to show the world that black women aren't just "a bunch of Aunt Jemimas"...and in walks Nell [[InstantlyProvenWrong carrying a basket of laundry while wearing a kerchief]].

* Deconstructed with Nell from ''Series/GimmeABreak'', as this trope a hard sell in the early 80's when the Mammy archetype was considered long outdated. She was the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and mother-figure to his three teenage daughters, but she was a friend of their late mother ''before'' taking the job. And since she's the central character, she is shown with her own friends, family, and dating life which are often plot points. When the Chief's actor Dolph Sweet passed away between Seasons 4 and 5, TheCharacterDiedWithHim and the show was {{retool}}ed to focus more on Nell. Eventually the daughters were written out as they moved on with their adult lives, and in the final season Nell moved to New York City and took a desk job at a publishing company.[[note]]At one point late in the 6th season, Nell visited the youngest daughter at her college. The showrunners considered having Nell take a job at the girl's boardinghouse as the House Mom, but it was decided to instead have her leave domestic work altogether to be more in line with the growing trend of sitcoms focusing on Black professionals.[[/note]] In fact, this trope was lampshaded as early as the third season when Nell's friend Addy, a college professor, appears at the family house and meets the daughters. She tells them that she's proud to have a successful career and to show the world that black women aren't just "a bunch of Aunt Jemimas"...and in walks Nell [[InstantlyProvenWrong carrying a basket of laundry while wearing a kerchief]].

* Zig-zagged with Nell from ''Series/GimmeABreak''. In the beginning she was the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and mother-figure to his three teenage daughters, but she was a friend of their late mother ''before'' taking the job rather than just being their employee. And since she's the central character, she has her friends, family, and a dating life which are often plot points. When the Chief's actor Dolph Sweet passed away between Seasons 4 and 5, TheCharacterDiedWithHim and the show was {{retool}}ed to focus more on Nell. Eventually the daughters were written out as they moved on with their adult lives, and in the final season she moved to New York City and took a desk job at a publishing company, to be more in line with other sitcoms at the time focusing on black professionals. Since the show aired in the 80's when the Mammy archetype was long outdated, this trope was lampshaded as early as the third season when Nell's friend Addy, a college professor, appears at the family house and meets the daughters. She tells them that she's proud to have a successful career and to show the world that black women aren't just "a bunch of Aunt Jemimas"...and in walks Nell [[InstantlyProvenWrong carrying a basket of laundry while wearing a kerchief]].

* Zig-zagged with Nell from ''Series/GimmeABreak''. She was the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and mother-figure to his three teenage daughters, but she was a family friend ''before'' taking that job, rather than just being their employee. When the Chief's actor Dolph Sweet passed away between Seasons 4 and 5, TheCharacterDiedWithHim and the show was {{retool}}ed to focus more on Nell's personal life. Eventually the daughters were written out as they moved on with their adult lives and more of Nell's friends and family joined the cast, and in the final season she moved to New York City and took a desk job at a publishing company, to be more in line with other sitcoms at the time focusing on black professionals. Since the show aired in the 80's when the Mammy archetype was long outdated, this trope was lampshaded as early as the third season when Nell's friend Addy, a college professor, appears at the family house and meets the daughters. She tells them that she's proud to have a successful career and to show the world that black women aren't just "a bunch of Aunt Jemimas"...and in walks Nell [[InstantlyProvenWrong carrying a basket of laundry while wearing a kerchief]].

* Aunt Jemima from the Quaker Oats Company's brand; was originally a character from MinstrelShows. Her '80s design nixed the "Mammy" imagery, giving her a natural hairstyle and pearls to insinuate that she is a homemaker. In 2021 Quaker finally retired Aunt Jemima, and rechristened the line after its original parent, the Pearl Milling Company.

* Zig-zagged with Nell from ''Series/GimmeABreak''. She was the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and mother-figure to his three teenage daughters, but she was a family friend ''before'' taking that job, rather than just being their employee. When the Chief's actor Dolph Sweet passed away between Seasons 4 and 5, TheCharacterDiedWithHim and the show was {{retool}}ed to focus more on Nell's personal life. Eventually the daughters were written out as they moved on with their adult lives and more of Nell's friends and family joined the cast, and in the final season she moved to New York City and took a desk job at a publishing company, to be more in line with other sitcoms at the time focusing on black professionals. Since the show aired in the 80's when the Mammy archetype was long outdated, this trope was lampshaded as early as the third season when Nell's friend Addy, a college professor, appears at the family house and meets the daughters. She tells them that she's proud to have a successful career and to show the world that black women aren't just "a bunch of Aunt Jemimas"...and in walks Nell [[InstantlyProvenWrong carrying a basket of laundry while wearing a bandanna]].

* Zig-zagged with Nell from ''Series/GimmeABreak''. She was the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and mother-figure to his three teenage daughters, but she was a family friend ''before'' taking that job, rather than just being their employee. When the Chief's actor Dolph Sweet passed away between Seasons 4 and 5, TheCharacterDiedWithHim and the show was {{retool}}ed to focus more on Nell's personal life. Eventually the daughters were written out as they moved on with their adult lives and more of Nell's friends and family joined the cast, and in the final season she moved to New York City and took a desk job at a publishing company, to be more in line with other sitcoms at the time focusing on black professionals. Since the show aired in the 80's when the Mammy archetype was long outdated, this trope was lampshaded as early as the third season when Nell's friend Addy, a college professor, appears at the Kanisky house and meets the daughters. She tells them that she's proud to have a successful career and to show the world that black women aren't just "a bunch of Aunt Jemimas"...and in walks Nell [[InstantlyProvenWrong carrying a basket of laundry while wearing a bandanna]].

* Zig-zagged with Nell from ''Series/GimmeABreak''. The show takes place in the 1980's when the Mammy archetype had been outdated for at least 20 years, but Nell was the main character, initially serving as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and surrogate mother his three teenage daughters. But when the Chief's actor Dolph Sweet passed away between Seasons 4 and 5, TheCharacterDiedWithHim and the show was {{retool}}ed to focus more on Nell's personal life. Eventually the daughters were written out as they moved on with their adult lives and more of Nell's friends and family joined the main cast, and in the final season she moved to New York City and took a desk job at a publishing company, to be more in line with other sitcoms at the time focusing on black professionals. For what it's worth, this trope was lampshaded as early as the third season when Nell's friend Addy, a college professor, appears at the Kanisky house and meets the daughters. She tells them that she's proud to have a successful career and to show the world that black women aren't just "a bunch of Aunt Jemimas"...and in walks Nell [[InstantlyProvenWrong carrying a basket of laundry while wearing a bandanna]].

* Zig-zagged with Nell from ''Series/GimmeABreak''. The show takes place in the 1980's when the Mammy archetype had been outdated for at least 20 years, but Nell was the main character, initially serving as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and his three teenage daughters. With the mom dead, Nell served as a surrogate mother for the girls, especially when it came to feminine issues. But when the Chief's actor Dolph Sweet passed away between Seasons 4 and 5, TheCharacterDiedWithHim and the show was {{retool}}ed to focus more on Nell's personal life. Eventually the daughters were written out as they moved on with their adult lives and more of Nell's friends and family joined the main cast, and in the final season she moved to New York City and took a desk job at a publishing company to be more in line with other sitcoms at the time focusing on black professionals. For what it's worth, this trope was lampshaded as early as the third season when Nell's friend Addy, a college professor, appears at the Kanisky house and meets the daughters. She tells them that she's proud to have a successful career and to show the world that black women aren't just "a bunch of Aunt Jemimas"...and in walks Nell [[InstantlyProvenWrong carrying a basket of laundry while wearing a bandanna]].

* Zig-zagged with Nell from ''Series/GimmeABreak''. The show takes place in the 1980's when the Mammy archetype had been outdated for at least 20 years, but Nell was the central character as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and his three teenage daughters. With the mom dead, Nell served as a surrogate mother for the girls, especially when it came to feminine issues. But when the Chief's actor Dolph Sweet passed away between Seasons 4 and 5, TheCharacterDiedWithHim and the show was {{retool}}ed to focus more on Nell's personal life. Eventually the daughters were written out as they moved on with their adult lives and more of Nell's friends and family joined the main cast, and in the final season she moved to New York City and took a desk job at a publishing company, to be more in line with other sitcoms at the time focusing on black professionals. For what it's worth, this trope was lampshaded as early as the third season when Nell's friend Addy, a college professor, appears at the Kanisky house and meets the daughters. She tells them that she's proud to have a successful career and to show the world that black women aren't just "a bunch of Aunt Jemimas"...and in walks Nell [[InstantlyProvenWrong carrying a basket of laundry while wearing a bandanna]].

* Zig-zagged with Nell from ''Series/GimmeABreak''. The show takes place in the 1980's when the Mammy archetype had been outdated for at least 20 years, but at first she was indeed the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and his three teenage daughters. With the mom dead, Nell served as a surrogate mother for the girls, especially when it came to feminine issues. But when the Chief's actor Dolph Sweet passed away between Seasons 4 and 5, TheCharacterDiedWithHim and the show was {{retool}}ed to focus more on Nell and her personal life, as she had become the central character by that point anyway. Eventually the daughters were written out as they moved on with their adult lives and more of Nell's friends and family joined the main cast, and in the final season she moved to New York City and took a desk job at a publishing company, to be more in line with other sitcoms at the time focusing on black professionals. For what it's worth, this trope was lampshaded as early as the third season when Nell's friend Addy, a college professor, appears at the Kanisky house and meets the daughters. She tells them that she's proud to have a successful career and to show the world that black women aren't just "a bunch of Aunt Jemimas"...and in walks Nell [[InstantlyProvenWrong carrying a basket of laundry while wearing a bandanna]].

* Zig-zagged with Nell from ''Series/GimmeABreak''. The show takes place in the 1980's when the Mammy archetype had been outdated for at least 20 years, but at first she was indeed the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and his three teenage daughters. With the mom dead, Nell served as a surrogate mother for the girls, especially when it came to feminine issues. But when Chief's actor Dolph Sweet passed away between Seasons 4 and 5, TheCharacterDiedWithHim and the show was {{retool}}ed to focus more on Nell and her personal life, as she had become the central character by that point anyway. Eventually the daughters were written out as they moved on with their adult lives and more of Nell's friends and family joined the main cast, and in the final season she moved to New York City and took a desk job at a publishing company, to be more in line with other sitcoms at the time focusing on black professionals. For what it's worth, this trope was lampshaded as early as the third season when Nell's friend Addy, a college professor, appears at the Kanisky house and meets the daughters. She tells them that she's proud to have a successful career and to show the world that black women aren't just "a bunch of Aunt Jemimas"...and in walks Nell [[InstantlyProvenWrong carrying a basket of laundry while wearing a bandanna]].

* Zig-zagged with Nell from ''Series/GimmeABreak''. At first, she was indeed the housekeeper for a white family: widowed police chief Carl Kanisky and his three teenage daughters, and with the mom dead, Nell served as a surrogate mother for the girls, particularly when it came to feminine matters. But when Carl's actor Dolph Sweet passed away between Seasons 4 and 5, TheCharacterDiedWithHim and the show was {{retool}}ed to focus more on Nell and her personal life, as she had become the central character by that point anyway. Eventually the daughters were written out as they moved on with their adult lives, and in the final season Nell moved to New York to work a desk job at a publishing company, to be more in line with other black sitcoms at the time focusing on professionals. For what it's worth, this trope was lampshaded as early as the third season when Nell's friend Addy, a college professor, appears at the Kanisky house and meets the girls. She tells them that she's proud to have a successful career and to show the world that black women aren't just "a bunch of Aunt Jemimas"...and in walks Nell [[InstantlyProvenWrong with a basket of laundry while wearing a bandanna]].

The Mammy is a middle-aged, often overweight black woman employed as a domestic servant to a rich white family, usually as a maid, cook, or nanny. OlderThanRadio, {{Subtrope}} of EthnicMenialLabor, Mammy was born in the DeepSouth of UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica, but continued to be a presence for a century after the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar and is also "popular" in Cuba. During slavery, she was largely resigned to her enslavement, perhaps even finding HappinessInSlavery, likely owing to the fact that she worked in "The Big House" rather than toiling in the fields. After Emancipation, Mammy continued to serve as a menial domestic to whites and continued to aspire to little higher (though she may want more for her children). In her freedom, she may have also moved north, although her position and character are largely unchanged whether she lives in rural Georgia or UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}.

* Zig-zagged with Nell from ''Series/GimmeABreak''. At first, she was indeed the housekeeper for a white family: widowed police chief Carl Kanisky and his three teenage daughters, and with the mom dead, Nell served as a surrogate mother for the girls, particularly when it came to feminine matters. But when Carl's actor Dolph Sweet passed away between Seasons 4 and 5, TheCharacterDiedWithHim and the show was {{retool}}ed to focus more on Nell and her personal life, as she had become the central character by that point anyway. Eventually the daughters were written out as they moved on with their adult lives and in the final season Nell moved to New York to work a desk job at a publishing company, to be more in line with other black sitcoms at the time focusing on professionals. For what it's worth, this trope was lampshaded as early as the third season when Nell's friend Addy, a teacher, appears at the Kanisky house and meets the girls. She tells them that she's proud to have a successful career and to show the world that black women aren't just "a bunch of Aunt Jemimas"...and in walks Nell [[InstantlyProvenWrong with a basket of laundry while wearing a bandanna]].

* Nel from ''Series/GimmeABreak''.

The Mammy is a middle-aged, often overweight black woman employed as a domestic servant to a rich white family, usually as a maid, cook, or nanny. OlderThanRadio, {{Subtrope}} of EthnicMenialLabor, Mammy was born in the DeepSouth of UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica, but continued to be a presence for a century after the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar and is also "popular" in Cuba. During slavery, she was largely resigned to her enslavement, perhaps even finding HappinessInSlavery, likely owing to the fact that she worked in "The Big House" rather than toiling in the fields. After Emancipation, Mammy continued to serve as a menial domestic to whites and continued to aspire to little higher (though she may want more for her own children). In her freedom, she may have also moved north, although her position and character are largely unchanged whether she lives in rural Georgia or UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}.

OlderThanRadio, {{Subtrope}} of EthnicMenialLabor, Mammy was born in the DeepSouth of UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica, but continued to be a presence for a century after the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar and is also "popular" in Cuba. During slavery, she was largely resigned to her enslavement, perhaps even finding HappinessInSlavery. After she gained her freedom, Mammy continued to serve as a menial domestic to whites and continued to aspire to little higher. In her freedom, she may have also moved north, although her position and character are largely unchanged whether she lives in rural Georgia or UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}.

Physically, Mammy is generally overweight, middle-aged or older, and has no expressed sexuality; a white mistress was supposedly secure that having Mammy about the house was no threat to her husband's fidelity as opposed to a younger, prettier maid. In terms of character, Mammy is poorly educated but has abundant common sense and is competent in her domestic duties. She is servile toward the whites, but may be an ApronMatron toward her own family, or even toward her masters' children if they have placed her in authority over the kids. Her earthy common sense may, if her white masters or employers become sufficiently zany, lead her to become the OnlySaneMan of the household and develop some characteristics of a SassyBlackWoman, perhaps even being driven to deliver a WhoopiEpiphanySpeech.

Website/TheOtherWiki has a page on the archetype [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammy_archetype_in_the_United_States here.]] Given the character's association with MinstrelShows and [[{{Blackface}} racist stereotypes]], many people find UnfortunateImplications in it, especially if she expresses HappinessInSlavery or has no other role than to serve white people. However, more complex works may interrogate the type further by making her more well-rounded as a person or showing how she strives to be a positive mother figure in a bad situation.

If the story is set in Texas or California, she might be Hispanic or Native American. In the Northeast, she might be Irish, and in the Midwest Swedish or Norwegian. In stories set in UsefulNotes/TheRaj she might be Indian or Chinese (and more likely than not referred to as ''Ayah'' or ''Amah'', respectively). The archetype can also be applied to characters that are simply "black coded": that is, people who are treated in the setting the same way real life black people are.

Wiki/TheOtherWiki has a page on the archetype [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammy_archetype_in_the_United_States here.]] Given the character's association with MinstrelShows and [[{{Blackface}} racist stereotypes]], many people find UnfortunateImplications in it, especially if she expresses HappinessInSlavery or has no other role than to serve white people. However, more complex works may interrogate the type further by making her more well-rounded as a person or showing how she strives to be a positive mother figure in a bad situation.

* Subverted by Lenora "the natural born mama" from ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''. She's not a mammy in profession (she's an archeologist), but definitely by character design, and she's the TeamMom of the Gym Leaders. Part of the reason she drapes her apron (which makes her look rather round) over her back instead in the US release (revealing a slimmer but still much more full bodied figure than the standard Pokemon woman). The apron was also edited out of the [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} anime]] and the ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' manga in the US. Also may be part of the reason she was the one of the replaced gym leaders in the main story of ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'', and the only one that can't be battled outside of the World Tournament.

* ''WesternAnimation/JorelsBrother'' was based on the show creator's family, so one of the main characters was based on a housemaid he knew. The character, named Rose, was a middle-aged overweight black woman, which fit this trope and thus, got censored from the show. Due to the series already using several magical surreal elements, the character was changed to a talking octopus (referencing the fact she has to multitask and use several hands at once) and got her role greatly induced, in order to avoid this trope.