Archival Object 3: Baking Contest

This item is a photograph in 1954 that shows a group of African American women sitting behind rows of food; it can be inferred from the title that these individuals competed in a baking contest and are being photographed with the food they made.

The significance of this item is that it not only shows that African American women were in fact tasked with the role of being the person to provide cooked/baked goods but also in the way that it was not merely a hobby but a needed skill to be mastered. This photo shows women behind a few rows of baked goods in order to show that these women were taught and graded on how well they cooked thus furthering the notion that African American women had to be proficient in the realm of cooking and baking.

This item is used to show the stressed importance of how the society that was surrounding women was one that forced the concept of a woman, specifically an African American woman, to be efficient in cooking and baking.

Society drove the creation of this item. It was society that set the gendered, racialized stereotype that African American women were should be skilled bakers and cooks.

This item could be used by educators. It brings awareness to the standards that African American women were held to in the realm of baking and cooking. This photo could also be used by public speakers for the same reasons as educators in order to bring awareness.

This item – which showcases the food African American women made- relates to “Girl” in that the text also mentions cooking/baking as a skill that needs to be mastered. In “Girl,” the mother conveys to the daughter the importance of knowing how to cook, so that she can be prepared for what is asked of her in the future (when she is married and has children).

This item helps further my analysis of Kincaid’s text. The photograph of all the women surrounded by the food they baked supports my analysis that being a skilled cook/baker was an important skill that African American women were expected to possess.

Baking Contest. 1954. MSS 313 Robert and Sayde Wier Papers. Manuscripts Division, Special Collections Department, Mississippi State U Libraries, Mississippi State, MS. msstate.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/charm/id/14702/rec/26. Accessed 3 Nov. 2020.