Mother’s Day is fast approaching (May 14th) and the race is on to show how much our moms mean to us. And while every son loves their mom, some are more devoted than others: infamously known as ‘Mama’s Boys’. But where in America are the most devoted sons? Where are the grown men who can’t go a day without calling their mother, or who prefer their mom’s cooking to their partner’s because she always knows to cut his sandwiches into triangles (without crusts), or who still take their laundry back to her to be washed?
Mixbook, a #1 rated design platform for photo books, wanted to find out and, using a combination of census data and survey results (3,000 respondents by QuestionPro), came up with an absolute number of how many self-confessed Mama’s Boys reside in each state.
They found that there are 29 million men who admit to still being tied to their momma’s apron strings, which is the equivalent of 67% – two thirds – of men aged 20-39. That’s a lot of men ringing up to find out how to put the oven on, empty the washing machine, or make, er, toast.
Where are the country’s greatest number of Mama’s Boys? Well, it’s Mississippi, with a crazy 87% of young men in the Magnolia state – a total of 319,847 – happily admitting they still love to spend a substantial amount of time in the company of their moms.
And while there is absolutely nothing wrong with making your mom the main woman in your life, there are of course some men who have cut those apron strings and are happy to live without constant contact. Those men are mainly in Kansas, as the survey found that those in the Sunflower State are the ones who are most independent from their mothers (only 30%, or 122,608 men, admitted to being a mama’s boy).
The survey also made some other interesting finds: for example, over half – 59% – of men – admitted they liked their mom’s cooking more than their partner’s. That’s not to say that their partner’s meals are bad, it’s more like after growing up with someone always cooking you the same kind of food, you get used to certain dishes being cooked in a certain way.
When women were surveyed, 1-in-3 said they have been in a relationship with a mama’s boy – perhaps they’ve noticed that their partner calls his mother regularly, that he will drop everything to go and see her, or that he eagerly accepts an invitation to go over for Sunday lunch. It’s a sign of how close their relationship is; and, after all, they do say that you can tell what kind of partner or husband a man will be by how he treats his mother…
To reflect this, over 1 in 3 (35%) of men say that being called a ‘Mama’s Boy’ is a compliment. What is not to love about being close to your mother? It is, after all, the very first relationship every human has, and if your mother raises you right, you should be – hopefully – a well-rounded, thoughtful person.
However, that clearly doesn’t extend to doing your own laundry, as more than a quarter (27%) of men admit to outsourcing this admin to their moms. Surprisingly, 39% of men say they trust their mom’s judgment more than their partner’s.
Mixbook has created an infographic showing results across the country
