Older Than Radio,
Subtrope of
Ethnic Menial Labor, Mammy was born in the the
Deep South of
Antebellum America, but continued to be a presence for a century after the
American Civil War and is also "popular" in Cuba. During slavery, she was largely resigned to her enslavement, perhaps even finding
Happiness in Slavery. 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 is largely unchanged whether she lives in rural Georgia or
Chicago.
Physically, Mammy is generally obese, middle aged or older, and generally has zero sexual flavor about her: a white mistress was supposedly secure that having Mammy about the house was no threat to her husband's fidelity. In terms of character, Mammy is generally poorly educated, but has abundant common sense and is competent in her domestic duties. She is servile toward the whites, but may be an
Apron Matron 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
Only Sane Man of the household and develop some characteristics of a
Sassy Black Woman, perhaps even being driven to deliver a
Whoopi Epiphany Speech.
Compare
Magical Negro and
Almighty Janitor. May also be the maid of a
Maid And Maiden duo.
The Other Wiki has a page on the archetype
here
.
Examples
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Advertising
- Aunt Jemima from the Quaker Oats Company's brand; was originally a character from Minstrel Shows.
- Mrs. Butterworth, the pancake syrup mascot. Since the 70s, she's only been shown as the animated bottle in an attempt to tone down the inherent racism of the stereotype.
Anime and Manga
Film
Literature
- Missouri, Randy Bragg's housekeeper, from Alas, Babylon.
- Big Lannie from the Dorothy Parker short story "Clothe The Naked".
- Ruby from Patricia McCormick's Cut}.
- Mammy Jane in Charles W. Chesnutt's The Marrow Of Tradition.
- Aunt Jemima from The Rapture of the Deep
- Possibly Calpurnia from To Kill A Mockingbird
- Aunt Chloe from Uncle Tom's Cabin
- Ruth from Summer Of My German Soldier.
- Castalia from Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All is an examination and subversion. Yes, she's an obese (300 pounds), middle-aged to elderly domestic servant. But, as it turns out, she taught herself to read while still a slave (and reveals this fact while insulting her injured mistress after the plantation house burns down), raises minks, is the female protagonist's lover, and definitely does not qualify for Happiness in Slavery. (She also claims to have been born a princess in Africa, and Lucy relates a story that Castalia told her of her enslavement, though the princess bit is likely Unreliable Narrator.)
Newspaper Comics
- South African cartoon strip "Madam and Eve."
Radio
- Beulah, who started as a recurring minor character on Fibber McGee and Molly before gaining her own spinoff show.
Live-Action Television
- Betty Draper of Mad Men grew up raised by her family's black housekeeper and then hired one for her own children.
- Florida from Maude, and, to a lesser extent, her reprise of the role in Good Times.
- The titular Mama from Thats My Mama.
- Berta in Two and a Half Men is a subversion of the typical Mammy: while she is a competent housekeeper, obese, and full of common sense, she also takes shortcuts, does drugs, and insults the main characters. Oh, and she's white.
- Nel from Gimme A Break.
- Florence from The Jeffersons totally subverts the trope: She's thin, works for a black family and is extremely outspoken and sassy, especially toward George.
Toys
- Beloved Belindy from Raggedy Ann, and Dinah in the books.
Video Games
- Celie from The Colonel's Bequest. The game is set in 1925 on a former plantation.
- Subverted by Lenora "The natural born mama" from Pokemon Black And White. She's not a mammy in personality or profession, but definitely by character design. Part of the reason she drapes her apron (which makes her look rather round) over her back instead in the US release (revaling a slimmer but still much more full bodied figure than the standard Pokemon woman). The apron was also edited out of the Anime and the manga in the US. Also probably part of the reason she was the one of the replaced gymleaders in the main story of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, and the only that can't be battled outside of the World Tournament.
Western Animation
- Mammy Two-Shoes from the Tom And Jerry shorts. Note that Mammy Two Shoes is never shown to be servile to white people and is never seen taking orders from whites either. In fact, by all indications, it's her house that Tom and Jerry are shacked up in.
- Old Aunt Delilah in the Disney cartoon Figaro and Cleo (voiced by the same actress as Mammy Two-Shoes).
