Why is Jemima considered racist/unusable in the USA?

I personally love the name [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] although I would never use as it’s the name of one of my younger cousins. While browsing the boards here I’ve seen bad things written about the name and that it’s an unusable in the USA. So I am curious to why that reason is.

  • Well there the pancake syrup connection and the connection or reference to blacks or slavery. Unfortunately, it was a popular name at the time among the slavery up rise and I guess people associated it with the civil war era.

This name is much like the name [name_m]Adolf[/name_m]. People become overtly sensitive and make only ONE connection throughout history to the name. The name has a long time use in [name_f]England[/name_f] and they are very found of the name as am I. I wouldn’t worry too much about it because the younger generation are not affected by the cultural/historical connection as much as the much older generation was…

If you search the forums for “[name_f]Jemima[/name_f]” (in the titles only) you’ll find plenty of identical threads asking the same question. It should give you the info you need.

You’ll also see how the threads can spiral downhill, some it’s up to you if you want to keep this one open.

The Aunt [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] image was a derogatory stereotype of slave era African American women, similar to the caricatures of blacks in minstrel shows. The name became associated with slavery, oppression, and what was essentially a racial slur.

There are at least a dozen threads on this already. It’s like the [name_m]Cohen[/name_m] and [name_f]India[/name_f] debates. At this point when users make these threads I have to assume you’re looking to start an argument.

The general information that I’ve gathered from past threads, is that some people are extremely oversensitive about things that don’t even concern their ethnic background, so they feel the need to “correct” or “educate” others who don’t share their views, and don’t see names such as [name_f]India[/name_f] and [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] as offensive.

It’s a controversial topic that always turns ugly when it’s brought up. It doesn’t make sense to me whatsoever, and honestly, if it was THAT offensive this day in age, I’m pretty sure the Aunt [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] brand would be defunct due to protests, and government orders.

There is a law in the US against racism, is there not? Clearly the government sees nothing wrong with it, so I really don’t understand why some users (and yes, there are a few who advocate strongly against it, and are not American) get uptight over it.

It’s a classic biblical name, let’s look at that instead of the racial connections. Maybe if more people looked at the biblical connections, the “racist” connection will be dropped.

It’s probably because I’m Australian, but I’ve never heard any racial connections in reference to [name_f]Jemima[/name_f]. I didn’t know any of that stuff until I just read this thread just now.
I think [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] is a gorgeous Biblical girls name and I know 3 girls with this name :slight_smile:

I don’t think that’s really fair. Not everybody thinks to go through Nameberry’s (rather ineffective) search function to find discussions which largely occured long before they joined. [name_m]Just[/name_m] asking the forums is far easier for most. If it was a seasoned poster who’s been around a while, knows the forum etiquette yet still starts threads in a tone that screams they’re spoiling for a fight, then I’d agree with you. The OP merely asked an innocent question, to which I think they’ve received a decent answer now. So I think the thread can be closed whilst we’re all still friends :wink:

I’m not going to get into whether or why someone in the U.S. should or shouldn’t use [name_f]Jemima[/name_f]. But to answer your question, I don’t think it’s so much that the name [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] itself is considered racist. I’d analogize it to [name_m]Guido[/name_m]. [name_m]Guido[/name_m] is a perfectly nice name with a good history, and if you named your child [name_m]Guido[/name_m] I wouldn’t assume you were anti-Italian in the least. But because it is used as an ethnic slur, it calls to mind some ugly things for some people. Likewise, “Aunt [name_f]Jemima[/name_f]”, in addition to being a syrup, was used as a slur or a stereotype for a slave woman or “mammy” character. For people familiar with that usage the name [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] might make them think of those racist tropes even though the name - itself - isn’t necessarily racist.

As for me, my primary associations are [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] [name_m]Kirke[/name_m] and [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] Puddleduck, but names mean different things to different people.

I’m from the States and when I hear [name_f]Jemima[/name_f] I automatically think of the syrup and the mammy picture on the bottle. I don’t think the name is racist or anything, I just couldn’t name my kid something that is so heavily associated with a well known syrup brand haha :slight_smile: