Recently a news story broke out that the famous syrup Aunt Jemima will be changing its name since it's a racial stereotype. This comes days after George Floyd's murder and the protests and riots that have occurred since.
Earlier this year, Land O'Lakes stated they would be removing the Native American girl from their products since it's also a stereotype...or is it?
In the former example, the name change is justified. Calling a black person "aunt" or "uncle" is a reference to American slaves who lived in the house on plantations and enjoyed many privileges that other slaves did not have. Honestly, I'm surprised the name change did not occur sooner.
As for the latter example, the girl on the front is anything but a stereotype. In fact, the artist who drew her was Native American himself. The artist's daughter stated as much on Twitter.
That's the air of political correctness that has infected society. We think everything is "-ist" or "-phobic" or "appropriation" even when it isn't. There's a difference between stereotyping, representation, or even a light-hearted joke. Society needs to recognize that. We also can't pretend these stereotypes didn't exist, because then you run the risk of repeating them, as the saying goes.
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