“One of the hallmarks of a Singaporean aunty is her vibrantly assertive attitude – she speaks her mind with confidence. Yet she doesn’t come across as overbearing. She’s typically kind, amiable and sociable.
“The Singaporean aunty is also characterised by her prudent and resourceful nature. She knows where to purchase everyday items at discounted prices and is financially savvy.
“She’s the kind of person who would ask you to buy something from the shop down the road because it is cheaper there,” she told me.
A glowing testimonial, further validated by the success of Makcik Alert, a deal-touting social media platform that has attracted more than 20,000 followers on Instagram, thanks to its founders boasting all the aforementioned characteristics.
The account is also full of sisterly barbs and droll humour – another hallmark, I observed, of the aunty archetype.
It all started with a WhatsApp hive in 2019. As with many families, the three sisters, Aldila Mustapha, Sophiela Mustapha and Noorhayati Mustapha, had been part of a WhatsApp chat group that soon became inundated with Noorhayati’s deal alerts.
“She would spot promotions whenever she was out and about, and share them with us. I couldn’t keep up, so I suggested we create an Instagram account,” said Aldila, who is the eldest at 54.
To the sisters, the traits of a Singaporean aunty are universal.
“They are not gender or age-specific, and you can possess them regardless of where you are from,” said Sophiela, an engineer who is also in her 50s.
Traits like knowing a good bargain, knowing how to bargain, being confident to the point of being cocksure and the tendency to give unsolicited advice simply represent “an awareness of how things work in the world and how to get them to work for you”, she said.
But nothing is perfect – not even an icon – and the Singaporean aunty also has a perceived bad side.
“Although the phrase is typically used in an endearing and respectful way that celebrates positive traits like confidence, resourcefulness and sociability, an excessive display of these traits may also garner derogatory connotations,” said Dr Atiqah.
“For instance, a woman who is disproportionately frugal may be called an ‘aunty’ in a way that conveys negative undertones of being too calculative,” she added.