A ''mama-san'' or ''mamasan'' is usually a woman in a position of authority, especially one in charge of a geisha house or bar or nightclub in East Asia. In

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

a mamasan is a woman who works in a supervisory role in certain establishments, typically those related to drinking places. Papa-san may refer to a man in a similar position. The term is a combination of the English word "Mama" and the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

suffix ''

-san The Japanese language makes use of a system of honorific speech, called , which includes honorific suffixes and prefixes when referring to others in a conversation. Suffixes are often gender-specific at the end of names, while prefixes are att ...

'' which is a polite honorific attached to a person's name or title, coined by U.S. soldiers in Japan after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. This probably has had some influence in its spread to other Southeast Asian countries. It is considered extremely rude to refer to a woman in charge of a respectable restaurant or inn as ''mama-san''. The proper title for her is ''okami'' or ''okami-san''. In

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, mamasan is commonly used to describe a woman who manages the female workers in bars and brothels. To at least some extent, these can be considered the local equivalents of a madam, although the conventions of bar fine prostitution in Asia are quite different from those of street or brothel prostitution in western countries. Mamasan (sometimes abbreviated MMS) is also used in the United States to refer to the woman managing the staff of Asian

massage parlor A massage parlor (American English) or massage parlour (Canadian/British English) is a place where massage services are provided for a fee. In the 19th century, the term began to be used in English as a euphemism for a brothel. Context In 189 ...

References

External links

Use of term in Vietnam war era
Sexual slang Slang terms for women Anti-Asian slurs {{term-stub