Social:Mother's boy

A mother's boy, also mummy's boy or mama's boy, is a man who is excessively attached to his mother at an age at which men are expected to be independent (e.g. live on their own, be economically independent, be married or about to be married). Due to cost of living of some states, this is a viable option for many single men or even newlyweds. Anecdotally, this age of independence varies throughout each stratum of every human society in the world, sometimes greatly. A mother's boy may be effete or effeminate, or might be perceived as being macho, or might have a personality disorder, such as avoidant personality disorder, or might be schizophrenic, so that the mother acts as a caregiver.

In classical Freudian psychoanalytic theory, the term Oedipus complex denotes a child's desire to have sexual relations with the parent of the opposite sex. Sigmund Freud believed that a child's identification with the same-sex parent is the successful resolution of the Oedipus complex. If this identification fails, the boy remains a lifelong "mama's boy."

Being mother-bonded is sometimes seen as a sign of weakness, and has a social stigma attached to it in many places, although in other places it may be more acceptable or perceived as normal. A mother-bonded man is seen to give control of his own life to his mother.

See also

• Human bonding
• Motherhood
• Norman Bates
• Otis Wilson (nicknamed "Mama's Boy" as shown in the Super Bowl Shuffle)
• Seymour Skinner

Television portrayals

• Everybody Loves Raymond
• Udaan