It's true that one of our greatest strengths as Jewish women is our determination to speak up and set things right in the world.
Jewish mother jokes, like the one about Jewish women in a restaurant, put us down for that strength. Those jokes make us look kvetchy and small, not strong and smart. I think on an unconscious level Jewish women jokes make us feel bad about who we are and can cause us to pause or second guess ourselves as we move towards speaking up about the issues we truly care about.
Jewish women jokes also affect non-Jewish women because the underlying message is, "If you are bold and speak up a lot, (like those Jewish women) you are not okay. You are not acting the way a woman should act." Any joke that puts down one group of women puts down all women and enourages us to distance ourselves from the targeted group.
It's true that one of our greatest strengths as Jewish women is our determination to speak up and set things right in the world.
Jewish mother jokes, like the one about Jewish women in a restaurant, put us down for that strength. Those jokes make us look kvetchy and small, not strong and smart. I think on an unconscious level Jewish women jokes make us feel bad about who we are and can cause us to pause or second guess ourselves as we move towards speaking up about the issues we truly care about.
Jewish women jokes also affect non-Jewish women because the underlying message is, "If you are bold and speak up a lot, (like those Jewish women) you are not okay. You are not acting the way a woman should act." Any joke that puts down one group of women puts down all women and enourages us to distance ourselves from the targeted group.