The “old” Aunt Jemima was a classic stereotype of a “mammy” back in the days of slavery. Her advertisements often included her speaking in broken English, which made her seem uneducated. The new and improved Image of Aunt Jemima is a drastic difference, and is not as credible as her old image. Aunt Jemima is still a woman of color, but seems to have lost a few hundred pounds, and is now a very mainstream, non-stereotypical woman. She lost the bandana, and a lot of other racial connotations. Now we can only see her face (instead of her whole body like the old advertisements). Aunt Jemima seems to be a middle class woman instead of a servant. She has a nice perm/hairdo, and also has pearl earrings. Her outward appearance is a huge step in a positive direction, and is far less offensive. She appears to be a sophisticated woman, but quite frankly does not look like a chef anymore. She has the appearance of a school teacher or principal, and doesn’t have as inviting and comforting of a feel as the old Aunt Jemima had. Though the old Aunt Jemima was an insulting stereotype, she seemed to have more credibility as a chef, and therefore was a stronger, more efficient spokesperson.
Back then, Aunt Jemima was portrayed as a slave who was subservient to whites because that was acceptable and of the norm in that particular time period. Today, that same stereotype is very controversial and isn't acceptable, so they had to modify Aunt Jemina's image as needed in order to adapt to this particular period of time. Part of the reason why the stereotype is so much more insulting now is because we don't have slavery anymore, so it would not make sense to have a slave trying to be the face of a particular product.
ReplyDeleteCompanies market ads that they feel will appeal to consumers.As the views of society have changed and people now recognize the stereotypical role of the "mammy" as demeaning, agencies have strayed away from this strategy. However, though the new Aunt Jemima figure proves to be an improvement upon the old, it still limits her to the role of a housewife. Why not a businesswoman in a suit? But then again who would buy pancakes from such a person.
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