Feb 06 Epi: Of Holding On Or Letting It Out

Originally posted by: NBT-BV

Good one!!!

one viewpoint

2. I just realized that Papa's girl' is something to be proud of but Mama's boy' is something to be ashamed of. Why is one praise-worthy & great and the other cringe-worthy & derogatory? Gender bias, anyone?!!! Point to ponder!

If you just go deeper in the meaning that Paps's girl is not the girl who follows the papa blindly - its the papa who pampers the girl and gives on to her every demand. Here the girl is in control and sort of manipulator.

on the other hand Mama's boy is not controlling Mom but otherwise.

Originally posted by: CXYZ

Hello,

True that! I just threw the Mama's boy-Papa's girl reference as a question to the readers as a point to ponder on sterotypes that society define.

I am personally against these so-called stereotypical definitions. Being a Papa's girl may not be that great after all & being a Mama's boy needn't be as bad as its being made out to be. The problem is both these are taken to be something good until the society deems it appropriate, often until childhood or teenage. When it is termed inappropriate, most often as the 'child' steps into young adulthood or marriage, the parent & the 'adult' offspring may not even realize it is now inappropriate or may even not be ready to change. This is more so with Mama's boy as compared to Papa's girl.

Unfortunately Mama's boy (severe cases) also comes under the umbrella of a personality disorder, hence generally deemed to be wrong because it is not 'normal'. Papa's girl on the other hand is not associated with any disorder, hence widely accepted as it is 'normal'.

With respect to KRPKAB, the term Mama's boy is used in a derogatory context, which I tend to bristle at!! Dev according to me, doesn't fit the stereotypical definition, he worshipped his mother but I wouldn't term it obsessive. But that's just my PoV!