"
Freedom from Want is important not only for the abundance it portrays, but for the social and familial relations it conveys. Whether or not consciously understood, the "traditional" manner of eating has meant in part that family meals are organized according to gender-specific roles: men as presiders and presenters, women as coordinators and servers. During the war, media depictions of bountiful meals with women as servers and cooks connoted stability to many Americans, in large part because the images reinforced the status quo of traditional gender roles. By masking the significant social changes occuring in society as a result of the war,
Freedom from Want and similar illustrations not only were icons of abundance during a time of restricted consumption, but also functioned to naturalize gender and racial heirarchy. The image of the ordered meal unquestioningly promoted the long-held assumption that women, as wives, mothers, and domestics, would serve nutritious and abundant meals for their families, despite the fact that more and more women were involved in work outside their homes as "Rosie the Riveters" or in other, more traditionally feminine kinds of work, both voluntary and paid. Although African-Americans were for the first time moving out of their prescribed and oppresive places in society - particularly black women leaving domestic service in droves for better-paying jobs- they were commonly portrayed as the preparers and servers of the ordered meal, images that in part conveyed a desire to maintain race segregation and domination. Media representations of the Southern kitchen, featuring black "mammy" figures contentedly cooking and serving, assuaged some Americans' anxieties about the defection of a black domestic workforce lured by the prospect of employment in higher-status war jobs."
from Bentley, Amy. "Islands of Serenity: Gender, Race, and Ordered Meals during World War II" in
Food in the USA: a reader.From
www.auntjemima.com:
The Aunt Jemima brand has been around for over 100 years and continues to stand for warmth, nourishment and trust -- qualities you'll find in loving moms from diverse backgrounds who care for and want the very best for their families.
1889 : Chris Rutt and Charles Underwood of the Pearl Milling Company developed Aunt Jemima, the first ready mix.
1890 : R.T. Davis purchased the struggling Aunt Jemima Manufacturing Company. He then brought the Aunt Jemima character to life when he hired Nancy Green as his spokeswoman.
1914 : The image of Aunt Jemima was so popular that the company was renamed the Aunt Jemima Mills Company.
1926 : The Quaker Oats Company purchased the Aunt Jemima Mills Company.
1933 : For the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933, the advertising planners decided to bring the Aunt Jemima character back to life. They hired Anna Robinson, described as a large, gregarious woman with the face of an angel. She traveled the country promoting Aunt Jemima until her death in 1951.
1937 : Quaker’s first registration of the Aunt Jemima trademark occurred in April, 1937.
1955 : From the mid 1950’s until the late 1960’s Aylene Lewis was hired to portray Aunt Jemima at the Aunt Jemima restaurant in the newly opened Disneyland.
1957 : Quaker introduced Aunt Jemima Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle Mix. Also at this time, Quaker began to advertise on television, showing kids and moms making not just pancakes but, “Aunt Jemimas”.
1966 : Quaker introduced syrup under the Aunt Jemima trademark and used the campaign,
“Aunt Jemima, what took you so long?”.
1981 : Quaker began a campaign for frozen products,
“Just Like Mommy Makes.” The campaign ran for four years.
1989 : In 1989, the image of Aunt Jemima was updated by removing her headband and giving her pearl earrings and a lace collar.
