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HelpRe: Mamie
in reply to a message by Wordsmith
The "maim" sound isn't too attractive. mamie feels more like a nn and less like a full name than say, Molly or even Maggie.
It also has an unpleasant racial association; whether it's because of some character I don't know about, or the fact it's very close to "mammy" it has a rather stereotypical and potentially condescending vibe to it.
Also, it just plain sounds like baby talk.
Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, when you criticize him, you're a mile away and you have his shoes!
Steve Martin
It also has an unpleasant racial association; whether it's because of some character I don't know about, or the fact it's very close to "mammy" it has a rather stereotypical and potentially condescending vibe to it.
Also, it just plain sounds like baby talk.
Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, when you criticize him, you're a mile away and you have his shoes!
Steve Martin
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Mamie itself doesn't have a racial association. You're thinking of "mammy."
Mamie Till was the mother of Emmett Till...
Mamie Till was the mother of Emmett Till...
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I know what Emmett Till's mother's name was ...
And I also know that Mamie Van Doren and Mamie Eisenhower were both white. That doesn't change what I said.
It's not an explicit racial connotation like Mammy; it's closer to Jemima, or Hattie or Mattie. The Frog Princess was originally going to be called Mattie but Disney changed it to Tiana because Mattie is seen, by many Black people, as a "slave name." I didn't want to call Mamie a "slave name" but that's what lots of people who would know better than I do and certainly better than you do consider it.
And I also know that Mamie Van Doren and Mamie Eisenhower were both white. That doesn't change what I said.
It's not an explicit racial connotation like Mammy; it's closer to Jemima, or Hattie or Mattie. The Frog Princess was originally going to be called Mattie but Disney changed it to Tiana because Mattie is seen, by many Black people, as a "slave name." I didn't want to call Mamie a "slave name" but that's what lots of people who would know better than I do and certainly better than you do consider it.
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Plenty of White and Black women have been named Mamie, so I guess I don't understand the branding of it as a "slave name."
For reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamie :)
For reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamie :)
This message was edited 5/2/2023, 9:33 AM
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