Owners to drop 'derogatory' Eskimo Pie ice cream name

[brooklynite]

Source: New York Daily News

Ice cream company Dreyer’s announced Friday it would drop the “derogatory” Eskimo Pie brand name which it has used for nearly 100 years to sell chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream bars.

“We have been reviewing our Eskimo Pie business for some time and will be changing the brand name and marketing,” Elizabell Marquez, head of marketing, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, told CBS News. “We are committed to being a part of the solution on racial equality, and recognize the term is derogatory.”

The brand name had been in use for 99 years and joins a slew of other brands, like Quaker Oats’ Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben’s and Cream of Wheat to announce re-branding efforts and reviews following protests over racial injustice that have spread around the world.
The product’s branding has long shown a young boy wearing a fur-lined hooded parka.

Read more: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-owners-drop-derogatory-eskimo-pie-ice-cream-name-20200621-bbp53v5v2jdqddzjlhtig7pdza-story.html

[customerserviceguy]

1. Will we have to stop

playing Nat King Cole's Christmas song on the radio, too? The one where he sings, "...and folks dressed up like Eskimos".

Before you answer, consider "Baby It's Cold Outside".

[regnaD kciN]

7. I'd have no problem with that...

Never liked "The Christmas Song" (a.k.a. "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire" ) all that much.

[alphafemale]

13. I have heard that people named Chet are especially troubled nt

[customerserviceguy]

22. As an

atheist, I'm no fan of Christmas music either, but Nat King Cole could make any song a masterpiece.

[madaboutharry]

2. They could call it an Arctic Pie.

Or a Glacier Pie. Or something like that.

[regnaD kciN]

8. The problem is, that name has been so ingrained into the public's consciousness...

...it will be hard, in 2020, to get people's interest in an entirely-new-named product. Kind of like if they suddenly decided to change the name of Coca-Cola ("because it promoted drug use" ) to something completely different, but without the huge image of the latter, even separated from its name. My guess is that, whatever they decide to name it, it won't sell very well, because it will sink out of the public's consciousness and be seen just like one of hundreds of other newer ice-cream products.

Of course, I never realized Dreyers owned "EP" in the first place.

[Pachamama]

11. Growing up in Germany we had chocolate marshmallow treats called "Negerksse" and "Mohrenkopf"

Translated- Negrokisses and Moor-heads

https://stock.adobe.com/images/schokokusse-nahaufnahme/20067237


Literally and that’s what they had always been called by everyone. In the 1990’s they were designated racist and the name became “Schaum - Küsse” (Marshmallow Kisses). One of the biggest retailers is Storck and their brand “Dickmanns”.

https://www.dickmanns.de/

People learned and they changed and they still are big sellers and popular.

https://chocolateclass.wordpress.com/2016/04/08/a-recurrent-phenomenon/

[BaileyBill]

14. Polar Pie

[Leith]

44. Yes! I vote for Polar Pie

Nice alliteration. It's fun to say.

[progree]

3. Can't say "chief" anymore except only in its proper context. Can't have a title with chief in it.

City of Duluth moves to remove the word 'chief' from key job titles, 6/17/20
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/06/17/city-of-duluth-moves-to-remove-the-word-chief-from-key-job-titles
The Duluth City Council will vote Monday on a proposal to change the city’s “chief administrative officer” position to “city administrator.” The goal is to “proactively remove language that is harmful, misrepresentative, and derogatory.”

No more "Commander-In-Chief" (although that post has been vacant for 3 1/2 years).

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

30. Because "Chief" came from Old French.

So, yeah, not to be harmful, misrepresentative, or derogatory to Old French guys.

[uppityperson]

4. Good for them.

[Jack-o-Lantern]

5. With all that's wrong in this country this seems a little trite.

[Ohio Joe]

29. True but...

A company is changing the name of it's product to do it's little part... We all should. Take care of all the little things and the big things take care of themselves.

[patphil]

6. How about Inuit Pie?

[Igel]

16. Because the two terms are not co-extensive.

Inuit is a specific ethnicity. They are one of the larger ones, and like having their ethnonym be the cover term.

The Yup'ik and Iñupiat are not Inuit. Using "Inuit" for them is like calling everybody from Central America "Mexican", or the Scottish "English". As with Central America, there's a large group that tends to wag the others. Unlike with Central America, the "others" are smaller and offer less wind resistance when wagged.

Worse, the Inuit in Greenland do not call themselves Inuit. So not all Inuit call themselves Inuit, not everybody the Inuit want to subsume under their ethnic term speak Inuit or want to be erased by being called Inuit. Somebody will be offended, somebody will be screwed, it's set up as a catch-22.

A cover term is necessary. One ethnicity insists their name must be the cover term, otherwise *they're* erased. Sometimes the rejection isn't that forceful--partly because they don't want to be seen as fractious and exposing in-fighting, lacking solidarity (the Canadian solution), partly because nobody wants to be on the wrong side of history (the usual American political approach). As though the Universe had a spiritual side that some people insist we accept and isn't purely materialistic, but don't want to cite a religious, even milquetoast and syncretistic, basis for their views.

I refer to them all as Yup'ik just to annoy the "One Ring" supremacy of "Inuit". And I choose "Yup'ik" because I find it difficult to have the tilde in "Iñupiat" without first composing the word in Word or tracking it down in Google and copying it. "Alaskan Native" includes all 3 groups (plus some). I'd rename the cool confection "Alaska Pie", but I'd wonder if that could mean something else to somebody else.


I keep hearing a nearly impossible etymology for "Eskimo" as the (original) reason for rejecting it and saying it's offensive. As with many things of this sort, the more likely etymologies all fail the obvious white-hot outrage test and so to mention them as even possible often provokes cries of heresy among the devout worshippers of Lyssa. Sometimes it's risky to point out obvious error that's deemed proper for political reasons. But to humor those devoted to falsehood is to respect and reward devotion to falsehood.

[Igel]

18. That, however,

sounds like it's equivalent to "chicken pie" or "apple pie."

We've long since lexicalized "Eskimo pie" so nobody thinks, except in jest, that it's made with real Esquimaux.

And don't the other tribes get a pie named after them?

At this juncture, the problem is that the Alaskan Natives not only didn't have access to milk, but because of that they didn't develop lactose tolerance. 80% or so of them are lactose intolerant.

[patphil]

20. I was being a bit sarcastic.

[moonscape]

9. At least I don't eat them, because

I know, at my age, I would slip up.

[mr_lebowski]

10. So ... 'Eskimo' is now a derogatory word?

So what have the PC Police deemed that the 'proper' term is, just so I know?

And please someone make sure it's not like 'handicapped' (a term which is SUPER DIFFERENT from 'disabled', in case you didn't know?), 'colored', or 'oriental' which were at one time the PC replacements for other words but now are recognized as terrible, horrible words to say in any company or context.

Unless you're me, bringing up how they used to be okay but now are not.

[scarletwoman]

12. It's derogatory because the name is an insult toward the Inupiat and Inuit peoples given to them

by their enemies.

It has long been considered an insult to refer to the Arctic peoples as "Eskimos" - for many decades, actually.

In any case, when a people tell you they don't want to be called a certain name, then the only decent thing to do is honor their wishes.

[jcgoldie]

15. Just because you did not know it was derogatory doesn't mean it wasn't...

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/04/24/475129558/why-you-probably-shouldnt-say-eskimo

[Igel]

24. The NPR use of the word "rehabilitate" is perfect here.

Like E. Ginzburg was rehabilitated. Suspected, wide use was made of accusing her and judging her for her supposed political crimes, and later it was decided what she'd done wasn't so politically bad so she could be rehabilitated. Oops.

She went from being a good Communist to being an enemy of the people to being a good Communist ... based on others' political need and spin. She had been a fairly good Communist, but simply got in the way--she didn't change and didn't actually do anything wrong. She couldn't defend herself. To defend her was to be complicit in her crimes. One could simply confess and hope that didn't lead to a harsher sentence. Or figure that confession would lead to a harsher sentence and curl up and hope for the least bad for yourself--and hope that the charges didn't bleed all over friends, family, acquaintances through guilty by association.

Not like Mendel'shtam and his epigram. At least Osip did *something*. That little poem-let got him sent to a labor camp, where he died; it got some others arrested and sent to prison, as well. Mendel'shtam, too, was exonerated and rehabilitated. The word has a nice ring. "Rehabilitated." It means, "Oops, my bad, but we made good political use of the fake charges. Too bad you're dead and we ruined the lives of your family and friends. Yes, waiter, I will have another helping of that gooseberry tart. Were we talking about anything important? No? Good. It would interfere with my enjoyment of the tart."

But it's probably too late to rehabilitate the word, even if 'rehabilitation' says that something mighty political and peculiar--but advantageous at the time--was underway. Discussing the rehabilitation is worthwhile, because a lot of people based a lot of arguments and browbeating on what was obviously a falsehood. And to mention that this was far from the only word used in this way to shame and browbeat people into compliance.

[customerserviceguy]

23. New "bad" words hit the list every year

It's tough to keep up with them all.

[miyazaki]

32. well, you asked for it.

[Steelrolled]

17. Alaska Native Pie?

There is the danger that people would see the words "Alaska Native" and think "Eskimo" so it still might be a problem. Perhaps serve them warm?

[kimbutgar]

19. Sorry this is getting too pc

[JustFiveMoreMinutes]

26. ... For you. Thanks. Move along.

[NurseJackie]

21. Inuit Pie?

[IronLionZion]

25. They should also drop the "pie" and go back to "I-Scream Bars"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskimo_Pie

Nelson began selling his invention, under the name I-Scream Bars. In 1921, he filed for a patent, and secured an agreement with local chocolate producer Russell C. Stover to mass-produce them under the new trademarked name "Eskimo Pie" (a name suggested by Mrs. Stover),

[orleans]

27. that's interesting.

i was reading this the op and thought they should just call them ice cream on a stick.

i like this original idea.

i remember my parents getting me one when we were boating around a lake when i was a kid. there wasn't a stick in the ice cream--it was just chocolate covered ice cream that came in a foil wrapper.

[OriginalGeek]

34. That's a Klondike bar

[PlanetBev]

28. Or, we could change the name to "Waste of Calories"

Save your ice cream craving for Ben and Jerry’s or Haagen-Dazs.

[olddad65]

31. When is the NFL going to disallow the team in Washington DC...

To use a racial slur for a team name?

[mr_lebowski]

35. I think I read somewhere that the NFL can't make them change it, legally

I may be wrong, or what I read may be wrong.

It is pretty bad. Much worse than names like the Chiefs, Indians, and Braves, for sure.

[Tikki]

33. if you like Dreyer's ice cream products you will find them and eat them no matter the name.

Plus, this will give ad agents a new chance at branding; something they are good at and are eager to do.

Tikki

[mr_lebowski]

36. If it were me I've had said 'we should remove the iconography of the kid in the hood ...

But leave the name'.

It's just called an Eskimo Pie ... BECAUSE IT'S COLD. Get it?

Not because it has anything whatever to do with actual Native Peoples.

Removing the image would've been sufficient, IMHO.

[jcgoldie]

37. "Washington Redskins" is racist with or without the Native American picture on the helmet...

Given the etymology of the term "Eskimo" this is pretty analogous.

[mr_lebowski]

39. I dunno about that ...

Almost everyone knows that the word 'Redskins' is a put down. It's not the level of the N-Word but it's pretty close. It's also really obviously a racial stereotype ... Red Skins.

Eskimo is perceived completely differently, no matter how much the PC Police want to imagine otherwise.

Also the etymology is subject to considerable debate to this day

[jcgoldie]

40. Perceptions alone do not determine the meanings of words, history matters...

https://web.archive.org/web/20150518081326/https://www.uaf.edu/anlc/resources/inuit-eskimo/

Edit: Here's another one...

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2016/05/23/obama-signs-measure-to-get-rid-of-the-word-eskimo-in-federal-laws/

BTW "PC police" is blatant right wing verbiage.

[mr_lebowski]

41. The excessive PC thing is the one place I diverge from the 'liberal ethos'

I think 'we' take it too far in many cases, and invite blowback that inhibits our efforts at causes I personally feel are more important.

So sue me.

Getting rid of 'Eskimo' from federal laws is one thing. It's an inaccurate name, a 'euphemism' if you will. Makes perfect sense to remove it there.

AFAIK no Native Peoples were agitating that the name Eskimo not be used for an ice cream treat, quite unlike their stance about the DC football team.

[jcgoldie]

43. How is it any kind of "police" when a company decides to change its own name...

...because at least some people find it offensive?

[Steelrolled]

38. Too late. They opened Pandora's box.

[Bengus81]

42. Going to ban I love LA by Randy Newman?