In many places around the world—from India to Africa to Hawaii—placing the title “Auntie” or “Aunty” before someone’s name who is not your actual aunt is seen as a sign of respect. It’s also common in Black culture here in America—for instance, when an older Black woman achieves something great, on Twitter, you can expect to see plenty of tweets reading: “Yasssss, Auntie So-and-So!”
We can all agree that it’s best to be respectful of our elders—after all, in her time, Dr. Maya Angelou didn’t hesitate to correct any youths who called her by her first name. But in a recent interview, When They See Us director Ava DuVernay sparked a debate about whether or not calling someone who is not of a certain age Auntie should be considered ageist.
During a sit down for Van Lathan’s podcast The Red Pill, DuVernay admitted she doesn’t love it when she sees people call her “Auntie Ava” on Twitter.
“Auntie Ava? Why? Am I that old?!” she asked. (For the record, the Oscar-nominated director is 46.) “Because I don’t feel that old! And it’s not a respect thing…Auntie Ava, like…Aunt Jemima?”
We had a feeling Ava might not be the only one in her friend group to take issue with the “Auntie” moniker—so we asked her friends Oprah and Gayle how they feel about it. And they had thoughts.
For the full story, visit OprahMag.com/Life.
