Momma’s Boy

This is something that I want to bring up because lately, I've been hearing this term a lot. Matter of fact, I've been called this for most of my life. I just want to address some myths and bring out some truths to this expression.

First of all, let's define what the phrase momma's boy means. The wiktionary says that "momma's boy" means, a male who has a very, perhaps too, close bond with his mother, often making him soft. Now, I think that I'm pretty close with my mom, but that doesn't make me a momma's boy and I definitely don't think that I'm soft. There are felons who are in jail with life sentences and they are close with their moms. Does that make them a momma's boy? I don't think so. Another thing, what is too close of a bond with your mother? Does that mean that you call daily to make sure she is ok? Does it mean that you go and see her from time to time and make sure that she doesn't want or need anything? Does it mean that you're old enough to be out on your own, but still live at home? My question is who are you to question someone's living situation based on age and how close a bond a man has with his mother. There may be circumstances as to why a man may still lives at home. There could be medical reasons, financial reasons, or temporarily. None of these things equates to a momma's boy. The phrase, "daddy's girl" doesn't have a negative connotation so why should momma's boy?

Don't get me wrong, there are momma's boys out there, but the term is used too loosely and where it doesn't fit. Here are some examples. Over the age of 25 years old and you still live at home. Not a momma's boy. Why? You have to find out why he's still home. His mom may be sick. He may be sick and needs special treatment, or he may just be lazy and doesn't want to move out. He's just being a mooch. In this case, it makes him a bum. Especially if he's not paying rent. Or he could be saving for a house to move into or a condo. In this case, it's just temporary for financial reasons. Example number two, he calls his mom before he makes any type of life changing decisions. Not a momma's boy. Why? He's just a boy. Any man who can't make any decisions as a man doesn't deserve to be called one. It doesn't have anything to do with his mom. He just doesn't have the God giving sense or balls to make a move. It's different to call and get an opinion. It's another thing to base your opinion on someone else's to make the decision for you. Another example, she pays his bills for him and buys all of his necessities. This one is funny to me because I work in a doctor's office and I see this all of the time. The guys are old enough to pay for their office visits, supplements and prescriptions, yet their mothers pay for it. Now, I use to think this was weird, but it goes back to what I was saying about medical issues. You don't know what his medical status is. We don't know if he's getting disability checks or not. Maybe he got into an accident and he could be waiting for a settlement. These are things that are undetermined and could change the whole dynamic of the situation.

So as often as this expression is thrown around, the truth of the matter is that "momma's boy" is just that, an expression. To me there really is no true meaning because based on what people may think, there is a reason why people do things and say things whether it be justifiable or not.