The Mammy Archetype: Origins and Modern Day Implications By: Sydnee Winston

1. The Mammy Archetype: Origins and Modern Day Implications By: Sydnee Winston

2. Defining A Mammy…. • “Mammy” is a stereotypical caricature of black women as domestic servants of white families. • Originated during American slavery as a racist justification of the economic exploitation of house slaves.

3. Characteristics of A Mammy • Overweight/Obese • Maternal • Loving/Nurturing • Good-natured/Deferential • Dark Skinned • Natural Hair • Black Attributes

4. Characteristics of A Mammy • Represented as “pleased” and “contented” with her domestic role in white households. • Often cared for her oppressor’s family at the neglect of her own. • Her most fundamental aspiration was to achieve acceptance and affirmation by her oppressors.

5. Media Representations of Mammy • Media played a pervasive role in solidifying the image of black women as the mammy. • Image of mammies seen in: • Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix • Gone With the Wind • Al Jolson’s The Jazz Singer • Many movies from the 1930s-50s

6. Media Representations of Mammy Clip of Hattie McDaniel in Gone With The Wind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4eXVhbKkRY

7. Internalizing of The Mammy Role • Many black women in the early 20th century took on domestic jobs because of little job opportunity elsewhere. • For many black women, playing into the role of “mammy” was a means of economic survival.

8. Internalizing of The Mammy Role • “Mrs. B, who was 27 years-old in 1947, was married with four children and worked as a domestic for an affluent white family. Mrs. B described herself as being hypervigilent in the house because she always wanted to make a good impression as not to lose her job. She was always exhaugsted after work and recounts not having the energy to spend much time with her own family. She always felt a tremendous economic and personal pressure maintain her job, because the family would suffer if she didn’t. Mrs. B lost herself in her role as housemaid and often pretended that her employer’s home was her own. She wanted the nice stuff and she often imitated her employer” (Abdullah, pg.200). Journal of Black Psychology

9. Legacies of the Mammy • The civil and feminist movements of the 1960s procured black women with the unprecedented economic opportunity. • Black women began to disassociate themselves from the image of “mammy.” • But many simultaneously adopted and internalized European standards of beauty (straight hair/light skin, etc.) and racist perceptions of black features.

10. Legacies of the Mammy • Many black women feel a pressure to conform to white standards of beauty. • Hair straightening and skin bleaching is a common practice among many black women. • Many associate natural black hair (particularly coarse and kinky) hair with the “mammy” figure and looking like a slave. • “Good vs. Bad Hair”

11. Legacies of the Mammy • Many black girls have low self-esteem and even develop self-hatred because of hair texture. • In many black families, having lighter skin is a source of favoritism.

12. Legacies of the Mammy

13. Conclusion • Although many black women feel the pressure to conform to white standards of beauty, there are a number of black women who have learned to embrace their own natural selves. • Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill, Toni Morrison, etc.