Do you know the old joke about what the difference is between a Jewish mother and a rottweiler? The rottweiler will eventually let go.
Universally known as neurotic, overprotective and wont to overfeed, the stereotype of the Jewish mother is a legend in our own culture and beyond. But can this image survive the modern age?
BellaOnline‘s Judaism editor, Paula E. Kirman, writes
that “the stereotypical Yiddishe Mama is probably a species that will not remain beyond another generation, as the face and makeup of Jewish families change and we are more used to living amongst non-Jews.”
It would be a shanda to lose this strong female cultural archetype, but Kirman may be right. This generation’s Jewish mamas may still push for their kids to be doctors and eat enough protein, but we have a difficult time picturing the 30-something American mamas we know dragging their kid home by the ears from the mall for wearing a mini-skirt.