摘要：AbstractMammy came to become a representation and a symbol of the Old South, with all its traditions and superstitions embedded in her figure. She represents an idealized image of the antebellum South and her buxom stature and big smile together with her permanent dedication to her master tend to epitomize the romanticized relationship master-slave and mammy-white charge, trying to overshadow all the abuses that African-American women slaves had to endure on the plantation. Mammy transgresses this image, becoming an important member of the master's household, and further on, her image is used in developing the character of Aunt Jemima, the Black cook whose pancakes become famous all over the world. Of all the stereotypes that African-American women have been reffered to (such as Jezebel and Sapphire) Aunt Jemima is a character who is born after the Civil War and who tries to re-unite the country, becoming a symbol of the United States. As the Civil Rights Era dawns African-American women begin to cast in movies performing the role of the mammy, or of the Black nurse or sometimes the figure of Aunt Jemima. With time the African-American women become more present in the media, culminating with Vanessa William's earning the title of Miss America in 1984.
