Monday, October 27, 2014

I can't fucking believe we still have something named the Eskimo Nebula

seriously how fuckin racist is that?



why, my fellow astronomers asked me, why is that racist? it's just that it looks like, you know, the fluffy hood of a jacket or a parka, and the Eskimo live in cold areas and wear clothes like that. And Eskimo itself isn't a bad word, and might be the only proper way to discuss some of the northern Native tribes. So why is this racist?

Well, I went spelunking on the internets, knowing that someone in NotAstronomy had already looked into this as an expert in one fashion or another, and I found (among plenty of other things) this: http://posterromance.com/2013/12/30/ice-cream-air-conditioners-and-anti-freeze/

which features a collection of stereotypical images used in marketing and advertising






At the very least, you can recognize how the use of a furred hood and a simple face is done as a stereotype. It has as much or as little to do with the actual Eskimo people as, for example, Mrs. Butterworth has to do with African Americans. The stereotype is used (in both cases) to sell a product; it reinforces simplistic ideas that white people have about "others" and then profits off of that. In this Eskimo case, the stereotypical image sells the idea of cold and hardiness--the implication that this ice cream is the best and this antigel is the best comes from the simplistic idea that all Eskimos do is survive in cold climates. In the case of Mrs. Buttersworth, the product reinforces the idea of "simple" or "down-home" country cooking, selling deliciousness and ease--implied from the stereotypical image of the comforting, food-serving mammy.



Anyway, the Eskimo nebula was probably named in the 1920s or 30s and I'm hoping we can maybe update it so we don't have to reinforce the same tired stupid stereotypes.


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