The Jewish mother stereotype is a common stereotype used by Jewish comedians, usually when discussing (fictionally or not) their mothers. The stereotype generally involves a nagging, overprotective, and overbearing mother, one who is often getting involved in her children's lives long after they have grown up. For the term used in its original printing sense, see etymology below. ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

The character plays a role in many of the works by filmmaker Woody Allen, including Oedipus Wrecks, his contribution to New York Stories. Prime examples also include Sophie Portnoy in Portnoy's Complaint, Sylvia Fine on The Nanny, Doris Tupper on Dream On (the latter two both having been played by Renee Taylor), the mother of Kyle Broflovski (Sheila Broflovski) in South Park and the mother of Jerry Seinfeld (Helen Seinfeld) on the television series Seinfeld. The topic is also mentioned by Lewis Black in his 2005 Carnegie Hall performance. The internet strip Alien Loves Predator features an Alien Jewish mother character. Woody Allen (born Allen Stewart Konigsberg on December 1, 1935) is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director, writer, actor, musician, comedian and playwright. ... New York Stories DVD cover New York Stories is a movie which was released in the USA in March 1989. ... Portnoys Complaint book cover Portnoys Complaint (1969) is American writer Philip Roths fourth and, to date, still most popular novel, with many of its characteristics (ribald, comedic prose; themes of sexual desire and sexual frustration; a self-conscious literariness) having gone on to become Roth trademarks. ... The Nanny was an American sitcom that aired from November 3, 1993 to May 12, 1999 on CBS. It starred Fran Drescher as the nanny named Fran (as Ann Hampton Callaway sang in the theme she wrote). ... Dream On is a cult American adult situation comedy about Martin Tupper, a dreamer whose life is full of colourful characters. ... Born Renée Wexler in New York City on March 19, 1933, Renée Taylor is best known for playing Fran Dreschers voracious and outspoken mother, Sylvia Fine, on the TV series The Nanny. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Gerald and Sheila Broflovski are fictional characters in the animated series South Park. ... South Park is an American, Emmy Award-winning[1] animated television comedy series about four fourth grade school boys who live in the small town of South Park, Colorado. ... Jerome (Jerry) Seinfeld is a semi-fictional character on the US television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998) who was named after, based on, and played by comedian Jerry Seinfeld. ... Helen Seinfeld, played by Liz Sheridan, is a fictional character on the US television sitcom Seinfeld (1989-1998). ... This article is about the sitcom. ... Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is a Grammy Award-winning American stand-up comedian, author, playwright, and actor. ... Alien Loves Predator (ALP to fans) is a webcomic written by Bernie Hou. ... The xenomorph as it appears in Alien vs. ...

Characteristics

Typical characteristics of a stereotypical Jewish mother include:

• Excessive pride in her children's achievements. Thus, she makes frequent references to "My son, the lawyer... ", or "My son, the doctor...". This theme was referenced by the Allan Sherman album entitled "My son the folk-singer", and subsequent albums with the same prefix.
• Conversely, she persistently nags her children if she considers them to have underachieved academically or financially, or if they remain unmarried.
• Constantly going on about religion and telling them not to do anything that would be against the Torah.
• She attempts to (s)mother her children, even when they have grown up. The effect, according to Philip Roth in Portnoy's Complaint, is that "a Jewish man with parents alive is a fifteen-year-old boy and will remain a fifteen-year-old boy until the day he (or his parents) dies."
• Usually very skilled in the kitchen, often making meals of Kosher quality in excessive proportions.
• Acts a "worrywart" towards her children and constantly fears about letting them do something as she overly exaggerates things being "dangerous".
• She often tries to set her sons up with various women she deems fit, usually of Jewish decent.
• She stresses being respected and honored by her children. Hence, the classic dismissal of Freudian theory: "Oedipus shmoedipus! A boy shouldn't love his mother?"
• Want their sons to be doctors when they grow up.
• She manipulates her child through the use of guilt, as in the old joke:
  • Q: How many Jewish mothers does it take to change a light bulb?
  • A: (with mournful Yiddish accent) Don't worry about me; I'll just sit here in the dark.

Presumably this "syndrome" of a strong mother figure is in part the result of the traditional Jewish philosophy of the man running the "external" world of business and politics, and the woman running the "internal" world of family and household. Allan Sherman (sometimes incorrectly Alan and Allen), November 30, 1924 – November 20, 1973, was an American musician, parodist, satirist, and television producer. ... Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (born March 19, 1933, Newark, New Jersey) is an American novelist. ... Sigmund Freud (May 6, 1856–September 23, 1939; IPA pronunciation: [] in German, [] in English) was a Jewish-Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who co-founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. ... The Oedipus complex in Freudian psychoanalysis refers to stage of psychosexual development in childhood where children of both sexes regard their father as an adversary and competitor for the exclusive love of their mother. ... Shm-reduplication is a form of reduplication in which the original word (the base) is repeated with the second copy (the reduplicant) beginning with shm- (IPA [ʃm]). The construction is generally used to indicate irony or scepticism with respect to comments about the discussed object: -Hes just a baby... Yiddish (ייִדיש, Jiddisch) is a Germanic language spoken by about four million Jews throughout the world. ...

In fiction

• Kyle's mother in South Park.

// Kyle was originally a Scottish surname, and one derivation of the surname is from the Gaelic word caol, which means narrows, channel, or strait. There are other possible Derivations. ... South Park is an American, Emmy Award-winning[1] animated television comedy series about four fourth grade school boys who live in the small town of South Park, Colorado. ...

See also

• Jewish humor
• Stock character
• Jewish-American princess