Title: Why the Miss Chiquita Banana Mascot Has Been Branded as Racist
Headings: Why the Miss Chiquita Banana Mascot Has Been Branded as Racist
Why the Miss Chiquita Banana Mascot Has Been Branded as Racist
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Content: This marketing campaign sought to familiarize American audiences with the banana and convince them to try the foreign fruit." The mascot was originally an anthropomorphic banana with human legs for added sex appeal and was created in 1944 by Hagar the Horrible cartoonist Dik Browne. In 1987, it was redesigned into a woman who more closely resembles Carmen Miranda. She also wears a giant hat full of fruit, including Chiquita Bananas, adding to the stereotype. It was revised again in 1988, although far less dramatically. Worth noting that the mascot is the latest in a long history of criticisms the company has accumulated over the years, which includes monopolistic practices, mistreatment of its workers in Central America and illicit payments to terrorist groups. The protests, which are now entering their fourth week, were sparked by the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who was killed by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25. Calling for an end to police brutality, several of the protests were organized by Black Lives Matter organizations, and have begun to lead to some major reforms in local governments. Among the changes, networks and studios have started rethinking the way police are portrayed in popular entertainment. Some shows have been pulled from rotation or permanently canceled, though others are slated to return in the fall, although with the promise that they will address the changing world around them.