Has anyone heard this term? A sportscaster in Connecticut used the term “gold dust triplets” in reference to three members of the UConn women’s basketball team, apparently meaning it as a compliment. A firestorm ensued, because others consider this to be a racist and insulting term. I’ve never heard of it and can’t find a definition anywhere. So, is it racist or is this another version of the “niggardly” controversy?
The Gold Dust Twins were used in advertising for Gold Dust washing powder. You can see some examples like this at eBay. It’s hard for me to see how a comparison to stereotypical depictions of blacks is complimentary.
Gold Dust was a soap company. Its trademark, courtesy of the “Aunt Jemima school of marketing”, was a pair of underdressed black twins, about 5 years old. In the 1920s, Gold Dust was one of the first companies to advertise heavily on national radio. As I remember it, the radio “Gold Dust Twins” (“Goldie” and “Dusty”) were a couple of white men who performed in blackface.
There are a couple examples of Gold Dust products shown here and here.
Given its stereotypical background, I’d be very careful before I ever referred to anyone as a “Gold Dust Triplet”.
Didn’t Elaine have a poster of the “Gold Dust Twins” on the wall in her room on “Seinfeld?”
I saw the picture in the link, and just have this to say:
Holy crap! I can’t believe someone thought they could get away with making a comparison like that in this day and age! Remember Jimmy the Greek?
Of course, a wise poster to this board once said “there’s a whole lot more stupidity in the world than prejudice”, but still…
“How come Jesus gets Industrial Disease?”
I had no idea of the history of the term. It turns out the firestorm was justified. Thanks.