"Yo mama" joke
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A mother insult is a reference to a person's mother through the use of phrases such as "your mom", "yer mum", or "yo mama", frequently used to insult the target by way of his or her mother. Used as an insult, "your mom..." preys on the fact that people commonly love and revere their mothers, making the insult particularly and globally offensive. "Your mom" can be combined with most types of insults, although suggestions of promiscuity, obesity, or lack of intelligence are particularly common.[1] Compared to other types of insults, "your mom" insults are especially likely to incite violence.[2] Slang variants such as "yo momma" or "yer ma" are sometimes used, depending on the local dialect. Insults involving "Your mom" are commonly used when playing the dozens. Additionally, this phrase is frequently used in playful banter between friends. Although this may appear to be a recent phenomenon, one can trace its roots far back in history. Indeed, William Shakespeare appears to utilize such a device in Act I Scene 1 of Timon of Athens:
Painter: "Y'are a dog."
Apemantus: "Thy mother's of my generation. What's she, if I be a dog?"
Although the phrase has a long history of including a description portion (such as the old, mostly harmless insult "your mama wears Army shoes"), the phrase "yo mama" by itself, without any qualifiers, has become commonly used as an all-purpose insult or an expression of defiance.
Use as a retort
"Your mom" is also sometimes used as a sarcastic retort to either a mild criticism or even an innocuous statement:
- Speaker 1: That car looks like trash.
- Speaker 2: Your mom looks like trash.
The effect of this is usually to mock the person; however, depending on the audience's familiarity with the insult, it may be taken as merely humorous rather than insulting.
The joke often contains sexual innuendo, as in the following example:
- Speaker 1: What are you doing?
- Speaker 2: Your mom!
In popular culture
"Your mom" jokes became common in North American pop culture in the early nineties. The Pharcyde's 1992 track "Ya Mama" echoed it, [3] as did the film Napoleon Dynamite, in which one of the supporting characters utters the phrase "your mom goes to college." Mexican film Y Tu Mama Tambien's title is an equivalent usage in Spanish ("and your momma too"). There is also a television show Yo Momma featuring contestants "playing the dozens". The Australian hiphop outfit Butterfingers released a song called "Yo Mama" that made number 17 on the 2004 Triple J Hottest 100.[4]
See also
- The dozens
- Fighting words
- Maledicta
- Taunt
- Chav
- Yo Momma - TV series
References
- ^
Ayoub, Millicent R. (October-December). "Ritualized Verbal Insult in White High School Culture". The Journal of American Folklore. 78 (310): 337–344. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|year=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ "The mother of all insults". The Guardian Unlimited. 2006-06-12. Retrieved 2006-12-06.
- ^
Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde (Media notes). Los Angeles, California: Delicious Vinyl. 1992.
{{cite AV media notes}}:|format=requires|url=(help); Unknown parameter|albumlink=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|bandname=ignored (help) - ^ Katrina Lobley (2005-08-19). "Degeneration Y". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-03-02.