Fried chicken stereotype
{{short description|Racist stereotype of African American people}}
{{use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}
File:Fried_chicken_stereotype_1905_cooncard.jpg" from 1905]]
The fried chicken stereotype is an anti-African American racist trope that has its roots in the American Civil War and traditional slave foods.
The popularity of fried chicken in the Southern United States and its portrayal in films like The Birth of a Nation contributed to the development of this stereotype. Restaurants such as Sambo's and Coon Chicken Inn further commercialized the stereotype through their mascots. Though fried chicken is now also celebrated as soul food, its association with African American culture is sometimes considered a sensitive issue.
Public figures like Tiger Woods have been targeted with fried chicken-related remarks, and organizations have been criticized for serving it during Black History Month or making racially insensitive references.
History
Since the American Civil War, traditional slave foods like fried chicken, watermelon, and chitterlings have suffered a strong association with stereotypes of African Americans and blackface minstrelsy.[http://www.southernfriedchickenrecipe.com/Fried-Chicken-Articles/history-of-fried-chicken.php History of Fried Chicken through the Ages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111112043731/http://www.southernfriedchickenrecipe.com/Fried-Chicken-Articles/history-of-fried-chicken.php|date=November 12, 2011}}. Southernfriedchickenrecipe.com. Retrieved on January 29, 2012. The reasons for this are various. Chicken dishes were popular among enslaved people before the American Civil War, as chickens were generally the only animals enslaved people were allowed to raise on their own.{{Cite news |last=Bering |first=Jesse |date=November 1, 2011 |title=Culinary Racism |work=Slate |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2011/11/obama_fried_chicken_incident_explaining_racist_food_stereotypes.html |url-status=live |access-date=November 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111102120708/http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2011/11/obama_fried_chicken_incident_explaining_racist_food_stereotypes.html |archive-date=November 2, 2011}} Race and folklore professor Claire Schmidt attributes the stereotype both to the popularity of fried chicken in the cuisine of the Southern United States and to a scene from the film The Birth of a Nation in which a rowdy African American man is seen eating fried chicken in a legislative hall.{{cite news |last=Demby |first=Gene |date=May 22, 2013 |title=Where Did That Fried Chicken Stereotype Come From? |newspaper=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2013/05/22/186087397/where-did-that-fried-chicken-stereotype-come-from}} The stereotype was commercialized in the 20th century by restaurants like Sambo's and Coon Chicken Inn, which selected exaggerated depictions of Black people as mascots, implying quality by their association with the stereotype. Although also being acknowledged positively as "soul food" today, the affinity that African American culture has for fried chicken has been considered by some to be a delicate, often pejorative issue.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}
Uses
On two occasions, the golfer Tiger Woods has been the target of remarks regarding fried chicken.{{Cite web |date=May 23, 2013 |title=Zoeller: I've 'paid my dues' for Tiger comment |url=https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/9306204/fuzzy-zoeller-talks-sergio-garcia-tiger-woods-fried-chicken-feud |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602133254/http://espn.go.com/golf/story/_/id/9306204/fuzzy-zoeller-talks-sergio-garcia-tiger-woods-fried-chicken-feud |archive-date=June 2, 2016 |access-date=May 19, 2016 |website=ESPN.com}} The first occurred in 1997 when golfer Fuzzy Zoeller said that Woods should avoid choosing fried chicken and collard greens for the Masters Tournament Champions' Dinner the following year;{{Cite web |date=May 22, 2013 |title=Tiger Woods: Fried chicken jibe by Sergio Garcia 'hurtful' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/golf/22610823 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522182211/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/golf/22610823 |archive-date=May 22, 2013 |access-date=May 22, 2013 |publisher=BBC Sport}} the second when golfer Sergio García was asked in a press conference in 2013 whether he would invite Woods to dinner during the U.S. Open to settle their ongoing feud. García, a Spaniard who was unaware of the existence of the stereotype in American culture, committed a gaffe, saying: "We will have him round every night ... We will serve fried chicken", which Woods said was "wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate". Both Zoeller and García subsequently apologized to Woods in each case.
Various groups and organizations have been criticized for serving fried chicken during Black History Month,{{Cite web |date=February 4, 2010 |title=Cook defends fried chicken choice for Black History Month menu |url=http://thegrio.com/2010/02/04/nbc-cook-defends-fried-chicken-choice-for-black-history-month/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610143629/http://thegrio.com/2010/02/04/nbc-cook-defends-fried-chicken-choice-for-black-history-month/ |archive-date=June 10, 2016 |access-date=May 31, 2016 |website=theGrio |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Yuhas |first=Alan |date=February 20, 2015 |title=Black History Month menu at university features fried chicken, collard greens |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/20/wright-state-university-black-history-month-menu-fried-chicken |url-status=live |access-date=August 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826100718/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/20/wright-state-university-black-history-month-menu-fried-chicken |archive-date=August 26, 2016 |issn=0261-3077}} making references to "Obama Fried Chicken"{{Cite news |title='Obama Fried Chicken' restaurant spotted in Beijing; KFC considering legal action |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/obama-fried-chicken-restaurant-spotted-in-beijing/2011/10/03/gIQAUwIEIL_blog.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512185347/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/obama-fried-chicken-restaurant-spotted-in-beijing/2011/10/03/gIQAUwIEIL_blog.html |archive-date=May 12, 2016}}{{Cite web |last=Fahim |first=Kareem |date=April 3, 2009 |title=Brooklyn Restaurant's Name Hits a Sour Note |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/nyregion/04chicken.html |access-date=January 4, 2021 |website=The New York Times}} and other racial stereotypes associated with the food.{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Trey |date=February 2, 2019 |title=Bill Maher Called Out for Making Popeyes Chicken Joke to Black lawmaker |work=The Wrap |url=https://www.thewrap.com/bill-maher-criticized-racist-popeyes-chicken-joke-will-hurd/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202223300/https://www.thewrap.com/bill-maher-criticized-racist-popeyes-chicken-joke-will-hurd/ |archive-date=February 2, 2019}}
See also
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References
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{{African American caricatures and stereotypes}}