Another Stereotype of the Month entry:
Another Stereotype of the Month entry:
Hello Rob,
First things first....
Thank you for maintaining such a wonderful, and unfortunately necessary, site.
Second,
Here is my nomination for March stereotype of the month. I did not see this one having been already nominated. If it has, I offer apologies for taking up your time.
Having come up short on a few items, like bread, the other day after getting snowed in here in southwest Virginia, I grabbed a loaf of all that was left when I was able to get to the store. Sunbeam white bread. After I got home I turned it over to read the nutritional info and noticed a series of "collector cards" being offered.
I was immediately drawn to the second card down on the left.
This is a current promotion that Sunbeam bread is offering.
Louis Hazard
Patrick County, Stuart, Virginia
Rob's reply
The second card on the left shows an Indian chief smiling at Little Miss Sunbeam, who is dressed in a little Indian maiden's outfit and is admiring her necklace. A few problems with this:
One, a real Indian chief, who dresses up only for cermonial purposes, would rarely if ever interact with a little white girl.
Two, the chief almost certainly wouldn't countenance the little white girl's pretense of being Indian. As we've noted many times, you don't become an Indian by looking like an Indian.
Three, the chief and maiden are both common stereotypes. The card reinforces the idea that all Indians looked like this.
Related links
Indian wannabes and imitators
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