User:Lkm4gn/Mammy stereotype
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A mammy, also spelled mammie, is a U.S. historical stereotype, originating from the South, depicting black women who work in a white family and nurse the family's children. The fictionalized mammy character is often visualized as a larger-sized, dark-skinned woman with a motherly personality. The origin of the mammy figure stereotype is rooted in the history of slavery in the United States. The mammy caricature was first seen in the 1830s in the antebellum proslavery literature as away to oppose the description of slavery given by abolitionist[1]. Black slave women were tasked with domestic and childcare work in white American slaveholding households. The mammy stereotype was inspired by these enslaved domestic workers but is not an accurate representation of the American slave experience.
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Other examples of the stereotype in film include:
- Mammy as played by Jennie Lee in D. W. Griffith's 1915 silent epic The Birth of a Nation.
- Aunt Dilsey, played by Hattie McDaniel, Judge Priest, 1934.
- Louise Beavers played a mammy, cook, slave, or servant in almost all of her film roles. The more well known are: Imitation of Life (1934), Belle Starr (1941), Holiday Inn (1942), Jack London (1943) and I Dream of Jeanie (1952).
- Delilah, played by Virginia Capers, Big Jake, 1971
- Louise, played by Margo Moorer, Forrest Gump, 1994
- Ma Soupswill, Rare, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, 2003
- Aunt Tempe, played by Hattie McDaniel, in Song of the South, 1946
- Queenie, played by Hattie McDaniel, in Show Boat, 1936
- Dicey Johnson, played by Ethel Waters, in Pinky (film), 1949
Television and Radio
Televisions did not become common in US household until around the mid to late 1940s, making radio shows popular forms of entertainment for the American family. In 1939, Beulah Brown, debuted as a character on the radio show Homeward Unincorporated. Beulah, as a character, was highly stereotypical and was the quintessential mammy figure auditorily.[2] The character was originally played by white actor Marlin Hurt. The character was well taken to and added to several other radio shows. Over time, the creators and producer of these shows wanted to have an actual Black women as the voice of the character. Hattie McDaniel was given the role on the radio version in 1947, as she famous for her multiple other award-winning performances portraying the mammy stereotype. The radio show was taken to television in the early 1950s and went on to run for three seasons. The first of season of the show, starred Ethel Waters, who later left the series due to not wanting to portray the mammy stereotype any longer.[2] McDaniel, took over the role for the second season, filming a total of six episodes before becoming ill. McDaniel has been noted to have chosen to play these mammy roles time and time again as they were the only accessible roles for black actress during this time. Moreover, she made more money portraying these characters than actually being a maid. Similar to how she was giving the role on the radio, McDaniel was the epitome of what a mammy looked like as well with being big in size, large mouth, and dark skin that contrast from white teeth and big eyes.[2] The role on television was also portrayed by Louise Beavers. Aside from the actress that portrayed her, Beulah, as a character, had all the characteristics of a mammy. She always made sure her "family", more the family works for, is well taken care of. Helping them at any cost and putting their need above hers can be seen in multiple episodes of the show. The NAACP, and other critics, did not like the image of the Black American women the show represented as it supported the mammy stereotype.
Over time, the image of the mammy was given a contemporary makeover. Some of the more contemporary features that the mammy received were that her head rag was removed and she became smaller, as well as lighter in complexion. In addition, her owner was not always white.
[3]Children:
- mammy as a culture
- mammy provides nurture and selflessly uses her body to provide for the children
- mammies do not chose this work, but rather are coerced or forced into the work.
- mammies leave their own children (not by free will) to care for other women's children
- form of slavery
- a difference between drinking a mother's milk versus a mammies milk
- often the right to have their own children was taken away from them so they could solely provide nutrition for white children
References
- ^ Green, Emily (2018-07-03). "Melanie Klein and the Black Mammy: An Exploration of the Influence of the Mammy Stereotype on Klein's Maternal and Its Contribution to the "Whiteness" of Psychoanalysis". Studies in Gender and Sexuality. 19 (3): 164–182. doi:10.1080/15240657.2018.1491454. ISSN 1524-0657.
- ^ a b c Sewell, Christopher J.P. (2013). "Mammies and Matriarchs: Tracing Images of the Black Female in Popular Culture 1950s to Present". Journal of African American Studies. 17. Springer: 308–326 – via JSTOR Journals.
- ^ a b Musser, Amber Jamilla (2018-07-03). "Mammy's Milk and Absent Black Children". Studies in Gender and Sexuality. 19 (3): 188–190. doi:10.1080/15240657.2018.1491456. ISSN 1524-0657.