Aunt Jemima is cancelled
 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...-says-n1231260


thank God racism is finally over

I ain't yo mama!

Shouldn't we get rid of the 130yo Quaker Oats image too? It's just as stereotypical as Auntie Jemima. As a distant descendant of Massachusetts Quakers, I'm deeply offended by this grinning oaf.

FTFY

I didn't realize that this was part of our current national unrest. Sounds like it would be wise for me to temporarily beef up security for the 20-ft statue of Aunt Jemima I erected in my backyard.

Patience. A half century back they advertised it as "the cereal that's shot from guns."

Baby steps.


Quakers are notorious pacifists.

That's a position worth fighting for.

I advise caution. Beefing up anything is likely to attract Militant Vegans, and that will draw Anti-Vegs. You can't win.

Sorry to dissent, but about time. It is probably the last national (American) brand with a clearly racist stereotype. Land-O-Lakes already made the decision to drop theirs.

Maybe the NFL is out of excuses for their worst offending team now.

it's not racist it's just a picture of a black woman on the label

and it's a compliment because it implies black people are good at cooking

Electric Aunt Jemima is still cool, though, right?



In-Joke Explication: The term "Electric Aunt Jemima" was applied to a smallish guitar amp FZ had, with a short in the wiring. The grille over the speaker kinda resembled a waffle, and the frizzly static emanating from the speaker kinda resembled batter hitting a griddle and frizzling up. Or maybe I'm just making all that up. :handwave:

"Mmm-mm, boy, my lips are getting heavy."
"I can't tell when you're telling the truth."
"I'm not."
"Ah, how do I know anything you've said to me--?"
"You don't."

I am joking around but not actively suggesting Aunt Jemima shouldn't be retired. Although I confess to sometimes being naive about these sorts of things; my innate reaction here was: wasn't this fixed with the redesign of the logo? I thought everyone was chill with Aunt J. now. But with my copping to lack of awareness out of the way, by all means it should be done away with if it is hurting people or otherwise re-enforcing wrongness.

all mascots should just be white straight males so there is no chance of offending anyone

Part of the problem is that Ole Aunt Jemima is a character from an 1875 minstrel-show song. And yes, that is where the syrup/pancakes/waffles mascot came from.

the old character was offensive but the modern one is innocuous

Not your call.

The old character was very offensive and current one still seems off but maybe as I'm old enough to remember the very offensive one.

I've seen a few complaints about Uncle Ben's and this I don't get. Even going back to the earliest Ad material, nothing about Uncle Ben appears to be a racist stereotype.

well im fat so im allowed to tell what mascots are fatphobic so I want the pillsbury doughboy cancelled next

Your having fun now aren't you?

This is very sad news for Mrs. Butterworth, Aunt Jemima's long-term shelf mate. :( Maybe it'll just be a name change, and Mrs. Butterworth won't have to get used to a new human-shaped bottle.


Also, I agree with this:

Bye - bye, Uncle Ben, too.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-m...-idUSKBN23O27Z

Surprising in some ways. As I said, I looked at their earliest marketing & packaging and Uncle Ben's doesn't appear to have used a stereotype or anything negative. Having a non-insulting black image for about 80 years seems more like a positive than a negative to me.

That article is pretty non-committal, though. "We may change or do away with Uncle Ben, or maybe not. In the meantime, check out these Mars Bars!"

If I understand correctly, the problem with the characters is that they harken back to old images of faithful Black servants working as cooks, waiters, etc.

So who will be the replacements on the Aunt Jemima syrup bottle and the tub of Land O' Lakes butter?

A picture of your stereotypical corporate looking white guy tricking millions of customers into believing browned high-fructose corn syrup is actual real maple syrup?

A picture of Karen who uses Land O' Lakes in her green bean casserole and gluten-free chocolate cupcakes?

Perfect!

Yep. They are renaming Sambo's restaurants too.

You gotta admit, Uncle Ben was dressed like the happy tap dancing kitchen slave from a Shirley Temple movie.

ICYDK: "Aunt" and "Uncle" were terms applied to house slaves. Pretty important fact to be aware of for the current conversation. That's why Jemima's an "Aunt" and Ben's an "Uncle." Nothing to do with actual family relationships.

"Aaron Parshley...explained that the former Aunt Jemima brand of syrups and pancake mixes would now bear a logo depicting an African American woman who wears a suit, carries a briefcase, and isn’t an aunt per se, though she is godmother to the child of a dear friend she met as an undergraduate at Dartmouth College." :wow:

I had no clue, none at all. I often call some buddies of mine "Uncle Whoever" even though most of them are my age or a bit younger, but it's meant affectionately. I'll reconsider it now.

The original Sambo's in Santa Barbara (great place for breakfast or lunch, despite the name) is looking for a new name. In the interim the sign has been changed to ☮&LOVE.

they got Uncle Ben too

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/...any-s-n1231329

I didn't even know he was problematic

I'm surprised to see the company take such decisive action.

I thought they would have waffled on the issue.

I agree entirely. I'll give Quaker credit that they tried to salvage the name by updating the picture. I think they started in the 80's by putting her in a power suit and Susan Dey hair. But it didn't work and it is time to admit that.

Virtually every logo/spokesthing designed by white men in committee should probably be looked at carefully. Odds are they fucked it up somewhere.

The M&Ms spokescandies seem multi-ethnic. They're even cannibalistic.

The Redskins need to change the name. No excuses. Atlanta Braves. Who else?

Also, is Uncle Ben also racist (rice brand)? I'm thinking yes, but I don't know.

It sounds like Uncle Ben is iffy. Aunt Jemima was a no question one. That cover art was racist in the 40s never-mind the 80s when they finally got rid of it. Uncle Ben didn't seem racist to me, but it looks like I'm missing some nuances of Southern Oppression. I think the Uncle Ben's history keeps in iffy.
Redskins have no excuse. Somehow that is still around, but try calling a team The Yellowskins, The Blackskins or Oliveskins and tell me how long that would last.

The Braves are iffy, it sounds like Native Americans hardly agree on that one. Though that stupid Tomahawk chant is cringy and all kinds of wrong.

The Indians backstory might get them a pass. The team really did name themselves in honor of a beloved "Indian" player. It is still iffy and Chief Wahoo is racist without question.

Braves? Iffy.

Redskins? Definitely!

Seminoles? Fuck off with that shit.

But as a militant acrophobe, I demand that the Colorado Rockies change their name to something flatter!

As I confessed upthread I am often slower to recognize problematic names and images than I should be but the Washington NFL Team is a no-brainer. The sad thing about not changing that name by now is that 10 years after they eventually do change it, even their own die-hard fans will be all like HOLY SHIT I CAN'T BELIEVE WE DIDN'T CHANGE OUR NAME 30 YEARS SOONER.

1. Oatmeal is one of the essential wonderful foods.
2. See that smiling guy in the hat? He likes it too.

3. Remember what happened to the "Me Too" movement? No? That's because it moved from sexual abuse by the powerful to Ed Shereen playing "I'm in Love with your Body" at an awards show. The former is horrific. The latter is a pretty song, and yes, one that represents the emotions of many women. Petty. Irrelevant. Drawing attention from the an problem.
Replacing Aunt J now is an empty gesture, done for the benefit of the company. They get press for doing something that might be considered socially responsible, and that if they actually cared about they would have done years ago. Simple enough to morph Aunt J to Anywoman With An Apron. GAH

5. Anyway maple syrup is much better, although the faux kind is not bad for the price.
6. There's nothing inherently wrong with putting a representation of a person on or as packaging, including a historical or fictional person, such as the Saint Pauli Girl.

stormie, have you read the lyrics to Sheeran's Shape of You? Here's how it starts:

The song is about screwing a woman he picked up in a bar. It's objectification in every sense. It deserves the hate it gets and yes, that hate's relevant.

I also can't believe Sambo's is still around. We lost ours about 30 years ago due to the horrific reference.

Women do the same thing. It may be about the bootie-call era, but it is not specifically about women. He's not forcing himself on anyone; "Come over and start up a conversation with just me, and trust me I'll give it a chance." This means, you want me, I'm open to that. It's relevant to concepts of love and sex.

My roomie in college used to go out buck hunting with her friends about every other weekend. Nobody fell in love, trust me.

*cough* yea I never did anything like that :rolleyes:

Seriously, yes. That's an implication. But when that's all you see, it's easy to accept that there isn't much more to black culture.

I'm shocked too, I thought that name was long gone, it left my part of New Jersey in the 70s and I never saw one in my cross country journeys.

OK, we're not nuts, the chain closed in 1982. It was one stand-alone place left.

Sambo the restaurant? Because, seriously??