A maternal insult, also referred to as a "yo mama" joke, is a reference to a person's

mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

through the use of phrases such as "your mother" or other regional variants, frequently used to insult the target by way of their mother. Used as an insult, "your mother..." preys on widespread sentiments of

parental respect Parental respect refers to deference and associated actions directed towards one's parent(s). In most societies parental respect is a virtuous disposition. The extent to how much deference should be afforded to one's parents difference from regio ...

, making the insult particularly and globally offensive. "Your mother" can be combined with most types of insults, although suggestions of promiscuity are particularly common. Insults based on

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...

height Height is measure of vertical distance, either vertical extent (how "tall" something or someone is) or vertical position (how "high" a point is). For example, "The height of that building is 50 m" or "The height of an airplane in-flight is ab ...

, hairiness,

laziness Laziness (also known as indolence) is disinclination to activity or exertion despite having the ability to act or to exert oneself. It is often used as a pejorative; terms for a person seen to be lazy include "couch potato", "slacker", and "b ...

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adopti ...

age Age or AGE may refer to: Time and its effects * Age, the amount of time someone or something has been alive or has existed ** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1 * Ageing or aging, the process of becoming older ...

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

, poverty, poor hygiene,

unattractiveness Unattractiveness or ugliness is the degree to which a person's physical features are considered aesthetically unfavorable of an aesthetic kind. Terminology Ugliness is a property of a person or thing that is unpleasant to look upon and results ...

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

, or

stupidity Stupidity is a lack of intelligence, understanding, reason, or wit. It may be innate, assumed or reactive. The word ''stupid'' comes from the Latin word ''stupere''. Stupid characters are often used for comedy in fictional stories. Walter B. ...

may also be used. Compared to other types of insults, "your mother" insults are especially likely to incite

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...

. Slang variants such as "yo mama", "yo momma", "yer ma", "yer mum", "ya mum", "ya mom", "ur mom", "your mum", "ur mum", "ur mother", "Joe mama", or "your mom" are sometimes used, depending on the local dialect. Insults involving "your mother" are commonly used when playing

the Dozens The Dozens is a game played between two contestants in which the participants insult each other until one of them gives up. Common in African-American communities, the Dozens is almost exclusively played in front of an audience, who encourage the ...

. Although the phrase has a long history of including a description portion, such as the old "your mother wears combat boots", the phrase "yo mama" by itself, without any qualifiers, has become commonly used as an all-purpose insult or an expression of defiance.

Historic examples

The first maternal insult written was written on a 3,500-year-old Babylonian stone tablet, written in

Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...

, with

cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sh ...

as writing system. The tablet was found in 1976 by an archaeologist named J.J. van Dijk. The tablet was most likely written by a student, because it has multiple spelling and grammar errors. The tablet also contained multiple riddles and more jokes. Scholars Michael Streck and Nathan Wasserman studied the tablet and published their research and translations in the journal ''Iraq'', put out by the

British Institute for the Study of Iraq The British Institute for the Study of Iraq (BISI) (formerly the British School of Archaeology in Iraq) is the only body in Britain devoted to research into the ancient civilizations and languages of Mesopotamia. It was founded in 1932 and its aim ...

. Streck and Wasserman’s translation of this particular joke reads, “…of your mother is by the one who has intercourse with her. What/who is it?” Other riddles included topics like beer, sex, and politics.

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

used such a device in Act I Scene 1 of ''

Timon of Athens ''Timon of Athens'' (''The Life of Tymon of Athens'') is a play written by William Shakespeare and probably also Thomas Middleton in about 1606. It was published in the '' First Folio'' in 1623. Timon lavishes his wealth on parasitic companio ...

'', implying that a character's mother is a "

bitch Bitch may refer to: * A female dog or other canine * Bitch (slang), a vulgar slur for a human female Bitch or bitches may also refer to: Arts and media Film and television * ''The Bitch'' (film), a 1979 film starring Joan Collins * ''Bitc ...

": Also in Act IV, Scene II of Shakespeare's ''

Titus Andronicus ''Titus Andronicus'' is a tragedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593, probably in collaboration with George Peele. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy and is often seen as his attempt to emul ...

'', Aaron taunts his lover's sons: An anti–

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

newspaper said this of his mother:

References

Explanatory notes

External links

{{wiktionarypar, your mum Misogyny Profanity Popular culture language Joke cycles

Historic examples

See also

References

Explanatory notes

External links