To be shocked with what I found in mothercare

[Lehman]

Im from the uk but have recently moved to Brisbane. I was pleased to find they have mothercare over here but shocked to find they are selling gollie dolls. I thought they stopped doing these years ago.

I loved my gollywog when I was little. I had a white doll and a brown doll. I don't think gollies look like black people. I'm not really sure why they are considered racist. I am sure someone will fill me in.

I agree with the casual middle class racism. So many people I know make comments about not wanting any more people from Nepal moving here. I find it really offensive. I cannot believe people still think skin colour matters.

Oh I can't wait to tell my back Zimbabwean dh and mil that they are lower than a dog turd and racist with it. What fun.

The whole gollywog debate raises it's head on MN every month or so and should be put in a box along with; breastfeeding, p&c parking spaces and benefits debates.

Not back Zimbabwean, black Zimbabwean, although come to think of it they are a bit backwards maybe I was right first time

I lived in Australia for two years, admittedly it was 12 years ago now, but it was acceptable then to say Paki, on the news, when talking about cricket.

This may be revealing my age, but what is a gollie doll?

Are they black dolls?

WOG originally stood for 'worthy orientla gentleman' and i'm sure it was never a term of abuse. As for golliwogs, I'm old enough to remembe (and covert) the golliwog broaches you could get from a certain jam if you collected enough labels. Golliwogs were also featured in Enid blyton books. I never associated them with black people as they look nothing like them apart from the fact that they are black. however I appreciate that many people now find them offensive as so i would never want to own one or advocate anybody else doing so. I must say, as someone who adored dolls when I was little, I would have loved one.

Oh Christ, I don't know if I have the will to argue this again, but

Of course they are racist. they remain racist even if a black person buys one. In fact, even if said black person says they are not racist, they are wrong, just as anybody who says they are not racist is wrong.

History of Golliwog

Are they actually intended to represent black people though?
I had one as a child, but I just considered it a stuffed toy.
I actually had a "black" baby doll too - a life like plastic doll made of brown plastic instead of the usual pink. I honestly never made the connection between the golly and an actual person, and I'm fairly sure my parents didn't either.

I agree with you Floggingmolly. Maybe because I am white and view any colour as just that and not less than me. I cannot understand racism at all.

mirry2 - of course that word doesn't stand for worthy oriental gentleman, any more than there is a word that stands for Nice Indian Gentleman Going Elephants Ears. And Chav isn't an acronym for Council House And Violent or Chatham Average. They are offensive, racist terms.

Of course they are meant to represent black people.
Just like the black and white minstrels were before that pesky political correctness ruined our Saturday nights by getting rid of them

And yes they were featured in Enid Blyton but not in a particularly postive light.

I wouldnt hold EB up as a doyen of multiculturism either.

Yes, but my point is that when I was a child I did not view them as representing black people, just as I didn't view teddy bears as representing bears. Children are innocent of all this.

Would it be more acceptable if we knitted some white golliwog dolls?

Why do we need gollywog dolls at all?

They are hidious and they cause offensive. They serve no purpose apart from allowing a few people to indulge in a bit of rose tinted nostalgia.

Shall we start a campaign to bring back Cabbage Patch Dolls too?

"Yes, but my point is that when I was a child I did not view them as representing black people, just as I didn't view teddy bears as representing bears. Children are innocent of all this."

What you as a child, or any child, thought of them has no bearing on whether or not they are racist.

A child will innocently play with a white pointy hood with eyes cut in it or make a den out of a swastika flag. This doesn't negate the items' racist connotations.

"Would it be more acceptable if we knitted some white golliwog dolls?"

I think the fact that there aren't any speaks volumes.

They're racist. I haven't seen one in years so quite they are still being sold.

Out of curiosity OhDoAdmit what's wrong with Cabbage Patch Dolls?

Are they not simply just called Gollys now? And can you not buy all colours of them? You certainly could when I visited Australia. There was a paled skin ginger haired one. I am a redhead. Should I have kicked up a huge fuss about discrimination on behalf of all gingers????

The book 'Gladstone the White Golliwog' illustrates the racism of the dolls. I've never read it but here it is.

I don't know LoveHandles, if they were invented at a time when people with ginger hair were being lynched and they had been used specifically to mock and belittle redheads for decades, then yes, you might.

As tethersend said there is actually a long history to the golliwog so it isn't just the innocent little black doll kids might think it is. If it were simply that they wouldn't make black barbies and baby dolls would they?

OP I found this extract in wikapedia concerning oz : 'Golliwog as racist insult

After the publication of Upton's first book, the term "golliwog" was used both as a reference to the children's toy and as a generic slang term for black people. In the UK and the Commonwealth, "golliwog" perhaps became "wog," a racial slur applied to dark-skinned people worldwide.[5] In Australia many young people of Greek, Italian, Lebanese, Syrian and other Mediterranean descent have reclaimed the name "wog" as a humorous identifier. An example of this from popular Australian culture is the 2000 movie The Wog Boy starring the actor Nick Giannopoulos.'

Right, what about these then, offensive?

IKEA

Are you serious?

You think we are saying that any black doll is racist?

My friend is balck and regularly goes to fancy dress parties as a golly, her cousins in Ghana can't understand what the fuss is about.