Mothers-in-law

Mothers-in-law are the mothers of a person's spouse, related through marriage only. Stereotypically, in jokes, sitcoms, and other pop culture artifacts, the mother-in-law is routinely treated as a dreaded figure, continually nagging and insulting the spouse (usually the male). Vaudeville and old-time radio used it heavily. On television, Ralph Kramden hated his mother-in-law on The Honeymooners, while Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law was a battle-axe on The Flintstones (a concept tweaked in the film version, with the less physically imposing but still domineering Elizabeth Taylor in the role). Bewitched may have been the culmination of the concept through Endora, a literal witch who loathes her son-in-law.
In Muppet/Henson productions, mother-in-law jokes surface periodically, most heavily on Dinosaurs (through Ethyl Phillips), and the concept of Hurling Day was used as an excuse for males to toss their mother-in-law over a cliff. More positive representations of mothers-in-law, and in-laws in general, typically occurred on Sesame Street, where the relationships between Maria's mother Mrs. Figueroa or Susan's mother Dorothy and their sons-in-law are fully amicable (or seldom emphasized). 
==Individual mothers-in-law==
Only including those largely or primarily defined by their relation to their in-law.
Ethylphillips.jpg|To Earl SinclairDinosaurs
Motherwilkerson.jpg|To B.P. RichfieldDinosaurs "Hurling Day"
Alicehill-motherinlaw.jpg|To The Man in the Cube (or rather to "Ted")The Cube
==References==
* In keeping with the sexist comedic tradition, Milton Berle repeats one of his old jokes in The Muppet Show episode 203: "I just got back from a pleasure trip. I took my mother-in-law to the airport." 
==See also==
*Mothers
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Category:Family Lists
Category:Joke References