to find this toy disturbing?

[Booboostoo]

DM bought DD (17 months) a happyland fun fair set which was such good fun I was looking through their other toys online for Christmas inspiration when I found this

www.elc.co.uk/HappyLand-Khaleeji-Family/134473,default,pd.html

I really liked the fact that the fun fair set came with little people from all races, but I find this toy disturbing. Aside from the burkas, what's with the men sitting on thrones and the women tending donkeys?

DP is trying to rile me over it, so I have come to MN jury for some sanity.

I have put my Golliwog/ELC photos on my profile.

MadBanners there are 2 photos and in the second picture the man is pushing the pushchair

No, the man is standing next to the pushchair, clearly unaware that the "push" in its name is something of the nature of a suggestion . I wonder whether perhaps his arms don't move?

SavoyCabbage, your profile isn't public.

Ah. It is now. Oops

Fucking hell Savoy, which store was that?

We have lots of single parent Playmobil families.

The heads pull off so easily, they were often widowed or left orphans :(

ScarahStratton father is with beard wearing a throbe and Keffye, son next to him wearing throbe and keffye. Wife and daughter in black abayas with headscarfs.

You might like to think it is his wife in white next to him but anyone from the arab culture will know immediately who is who in this family set up.

They are not thrones

CaseyShraeger click on the second picture. The man is behind the pushcahir with the woman to the other side. She is not even being useful and keeping control of the dog as the dog is next to the little girl.

Not the son with blue shoes, and the daughter with pink shoes? Because that's what it looks like to me, that one without a beard is def female.

I Don't think they are meant to be thrones, but they are made in the pre-existing Happyland "throne" moulds, so they are at the very least a bit throney.

They are thrones as they are the made from the same mold as the thrones for the happyland castle but in a different colour plastic.

This is quite common as it is the making of the molds that makes the development costs so high. Lego do the same and reuse molds from one set of lego in another set.

Yes, I did click on the second picture. In the first picture the woman is holding the pushchair. In the second picture the man is standing behind it but not holding it (which is why I wondered whether the male figure can even hold it, or whether he's been made with arms fixed to his sides.

The one by the chair without the beard is a boy. You can tell by the throbe and Keffye he is wearing plus he has bear feet/sandals on.

Well, I can guarantee that if the DDs had got their mitts on this, it would have been Mr & Mrs in the white robes, and the son and daughter in the black. Whatever the intentions would have been.

He doesn't you know, these are bear feet.

ELC is very popular in the Gulf - and Khaleeji means from the Gulf - I imagine that is the target market for this one. And although people don't sit on thrones (!) the taste in furniture is generally rather more ornate than in the west (massive generalisation, obviously) so unless they were going to do the traditional majlis seating, repurposing a throne seems not a bad idea.....

House is extremely un-Khaleeji though (pointed roof?? roses round the door? climbable tree?)

At best this set is badly thought out with crap advertising shots.

I used to love happyland stuff when my boys were younger but it seems to have gone down hill since then.

They've made the Boot pink, why?

I like pink. I think it looks much nicer.

Don't you dis our brown Boot Stratters, it's cool.

I'm sure it's a lovely brown Boot.

I'd defo buy pink Boot over brown Boot though. And I adore all the little fairy ones.