An early depiction of Aunt Jemima Aunt Jemima is a trademark for pancake flour, syrup, and other pancake-related comestibles. The trademark dates to 1893, and has been owned by Quaker Oats since 1926.
Aunt Jemima is depicted as a fat, smiling, bright-eyed African American woman, originally wearing a kerchief over her hair. Originally, she was a slave, and was the most commonplace representation of the stereotypical "mammy" character. The trademark has been modified several times over the years. Aunt Jemima is no longer a slave, and her kerchief has been eliminated.
Aunt Jemima was not the only depiction of an African-American to be used in Reconstruction advertising. Others include Cream of Wheat, featuring Uncle Rastus, Fairbank's Gold Dust, featuring the "Gold Dust Twins," J & P Coat's Threads, featuring "Topsy" and "Mammy" cookie jars. Objections to the depiction of Aunt Jemima and other black advertising date back to the 1920s. One important characteristic of Aunt Jemima is her stereotypical depiction of African-American women as servants: They were fat; unattractive, but happy. Aunt Jemima is characteristic of most advertising with African-American women as a reminder that their place was in the kitchen; and the majority of advertising is associated with food. Many blacks found Aunt Jemima in particular to be an obvious and insensitive reminder of slavery.
An early advertisement, for example, contained the following copy:
:"On the old plantation, Aunt Jemima refused to reveal to a soul the secret of those light fragrant pancakes which she baked for her master and his guests. Only once, long after her master's death did Aunt Jemima reveal her recipe. It's still a secret."
The phrase "Aunt Jemima" is sometimes used as a female version of Uncle Tom to refer to a black woman who is obsequiously servile. See Uncle Tom for more details.
The 1950s television show Beulah came under fire for depicting a mammy-like black maid and cook that was somewhat reminiscent of Aunt Jemima. Today, "Beulah" and "Aunt Jemima" are more or less interchangable as terms of disparagement.
Reference
Goings, Kenneth. Mammy and Uncle Mose: Black Collectibles and American Stereotyping. 1994. Bloomington: Indiana University Press ISBN 0253325927
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