Jemima

HannahO28 · May 2011

I just saw a baby Jemima on facebook. I was really surprised, I've never seen anyone name their baby this. The pancake syrup has turned it into a pretty racist term, right?

So what do you think...should this name be eliminated for good because of the one negative association (a la Adolf) or do you think it can be revived?

JuneMagnolia · May 2011

There are 2 Jemima's in my family tree, circa the American Revolution. I thought it was a little strange but I don't think it should be retired.

missesBAD · May 2011

when i hear this name all i can think is 'mmmmmmmmm, pancakes!' seriously, i am about to go whip up a batch.

catch2010 · May 2011

I just think of pancakes, not a racist undertone.

FuFey · May 2011

1) Pancakes 2) Puddleduck.

UK2ME · May 2011

I guess pancakes/racist is an American association, because I wouldn't have gotten that in a million years.

My first thought was Puddleduck.

SnoopyLuv · May 2011

FuFey:
1) Pancakes 2) Puddleduck.

Me too. My understanding is it's a sort of common British name. They don't have the bias against it like we do. I think it's adorable actually but I do picture a buxom black woman in a red handkerchief on her head and a big skirt.

plunderb · May 2011

I love Jemima and am sad to say that it is ruined (in America) by its racist connotations. I think it will be at least 100 years before it loses the bad taste left by the Mammy stereotype ? probably longer.

It's a popular name in Britain, though.

mintea · May 2011

I think it's a beautiful name and I would like to see it used modernly or reappropriated. Frankly while I think Hitler's infamy will live on for generations to come, the maple syrup character will hopefully fade away soon and with it the negative associations with the name.

Jenny952 · May 2011

I think Jemima will be associate with pancakes and syrup until about 50 years after the syrup brand ends.

CTri17 · May 2011

I think it will most likely be off most people's radars until people no longer "know" that it is/was a racist thing.

Sari323 · May 2011

I have always secretly loved Jemima-despite all the associations with pancakes, ducks and Hitler! I think it's a wonderful classic and it was on my list for quite awhile-unfortunately I couldn't convince DH.

austenreader85 · May 2011

I read a historical fiction novel set in the American Revolution and the main character's name was Jemima. I love it! DH refuses it because he thinks people will only associate it with Aunt Jemima syrup.

I say they should change the image of the syrup so we (meaning people in general, not just DH & I) can use this beautiful name!

Also, Mrs. Buttersworth is where it's at, so they should just give up on the whole brand, IMO.

Ceridwen21 · May 2011

I think it's a lovely name and certainly not comparable to Adolf!

Moneypenny424 · May 2011

plunderb:
I love Jemima and am sad to say that it is ruined (in America) by its racist connotations. I think it will be at least 100 years before it loses the bad taste left by the Mammy stereotype ? probably longer.
It's a popular name in Britain, though.

My first thought was to assume the parents were British. It seems weird for an American to name his/her child this.

melissa721 · May 2011

catch2010:
I just think of pancakes, not a racist undertone.

This. Racist? Really? Why is this news to me?

mrs.amandamm · May 2011

I, too, just thought of the syrup. I didn't know that there was anything racist about it...

HannahO28 · May 2011

melissa721:
catch2010:
I just think of pancakes, not a racist undertone.

This. Racist? Really? Why is this news to me?

probably because it's a fairly old connotation, but the pancake syrup mascot is the racist undertone. Here's a quote from an article from Slate:

"Aunt Jemima was dreamed up in 1889 by a white businessman who was inspired by a character at a minstrel show. Looking for a way to sell a self-rising pancake mix, Chris L. Rutt conceived a jolly ex-slave who lived on a Louisiana plantation and made legendary flapjacks in the days "befo' de wah." Eventually, she'd be boycotted by the NAACP, attacked by Langston Hughes, and belittled by Public Enemy. But this quintessential "mammy"?a black woman who lives to nurture, clean, and cook for whites?was a marketing phenomenon from the start, mythologized in ads painted by N.C. Wyeth and impersonated by actors who toured around the country. One had a permanent residency at "Aunt Jemima's Pancake House" in Disneyland"

I have heard that the name is still used in Britain often, where the syrup doesn't exist. The baby I saw on facebook was an American though, just to clarify.