Moms Mabley's Breakdown

920 Words2 Pages

When talking about Moms Mabley many comedians start off by saying, “she was the first woman that made me laugh”. Jackie “Moms” Mabley can be considered the original queen of comedy. Her oversized dresses, floppy shoes, hats, and droopy stockings made her relatable. Her rough voice, toothless grin, rubbery face, and large, bulging eyes became her trademarks. Her witty jokes, musical parodies, and verbal irony made her a pioneer.
One of the major components of Moms Mabley’s comedy was her character. While she was known to the world as Moms Mabley she was born Loretta Mary Aiken. I don’t think one can truly understand the comedy of Moms Mabley without recognizing the life of Loretta Mary Aiken. Aiken was born in Brevard, North Carolina. By the age of fourteen she had been raped twice. Her grandmother encouraged her to runaway so she wouldn’t get raped again. Although these details are short and concise I believe they provide the foundation for the Moms Mabley character and her comedy. During the era of slavery tragicomedy was prevalent because it was a mixture of humor and violence. Many people …show more content…

Her subversion was not judged or frowned upon by many audiences because of the character that she portrayed and because of the person she actually was outside of her comedic bit. Moms Mabley often joked about her lust for younger men and her repulsion for older men. In “The Youngest Teenager” Mabley says her husband “looks like six o’clock”. The sexual innuendo and verbal irony makes the joke subversive and almost crude. However, because Moms Mabley was an older woman known for being a lesbian, and occasionally wearing men’s clothing the subversive elements of the joke are overlooked. Moms Mabley’s personal style and characterization gives her jokes a deeper comedic element, because it juxtaposes and showcases the incongruity between her and the males that were the center of her

Open Document