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Article published In: Pragmatics and Society
Vol. 9:2 (2018) ► pp.297–328

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Exploring the construction of the Irish Mammy in ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys’

Making and breaking the stereotype

 | University of Edinburgh
 | National University of Ireland, Galway
Published online: 28 June 2018
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ps.16022.mur
Abstract
This paper explores how the cultural concept of the Irish Mammy is portrayed in the popular television comedy series ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys’. Considering the historicity and cultural aspects surrounding essential views of Irishness that have shaped the archetype of the stereotype, we draw on a corpus of (semi)scripted fictional interaction taken from the series. Using a Corpus Assisted Discourse Studies (CADS) approach to explore linguistic patterning surrounding the use of key lexical markers (e.g. Mammy), we investigate what they reveal about how the concept is represented, (de)constructed, and negotiated. The paper discusses the construction and deconstruction of the stereotype and the extent to which it draws on shared knowledge to reflect and navigate particular cultural values and concerns (. 1997. Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. London: Sage.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Hall, Stuart, Jessica Evans and Sean Nixon. 2013. Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. London: Sage.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). It views the deconstruction, in particular, as a way of challenging the traditional stereotype, in light of societal change, to provide a more layered, realistic and multi-faceted insight into the identities of the Irish Mammy figure within the fictional context of Mrs Brown’s Boys.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The concept of the Irish Mammy
  • 3.Data and methodology
    • 3.1The corpus
    • 3.2Corpus-assisted discourse studies
  • 4.Analysis: Making and breaking the Irish Mammy stereotype
    • 4.1Love
    • 4.2Control and interference
    • 4.3Sex
    • 4.4Sexual orientation
    • 4.5Culture
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
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