Golliwogs...

[GoodNewsTwo]

A colleague of mine today put a small golliwog figurine on her desk. Said she's always liked them and that she doesn't see an issue. I explained that some people (myself included) find them offensive and dated, and think they are too controversial for a workplace setting. As a black woman, I don't really like to sit and look at it all day. I'm sure many people wouldn't regardless of their ethnicity/race. AIBU to ask her again to remove it? I don't want to be 'that girl' who has an issue with race (I don't) - on this occasion, I just feel extremely uncomfortable.

wwyd?

I hadn't heard of golliwogs until I joined MN. From my very basic research it seems there weren't as popular in the US as they were in the UK. Which is kind of weird because the author of the book they're based on was from the US. But I digress.

It's fairly clear that they're racist just by looking at them. They would certainly never be allowed in my office, any more than an employee in my office would be permitted to display a Confederate flag on his/her desk.

Putting the racist connotations aside, the things are horrifying. If I had seen one as a child, I'd have had nightmares for a week.

Bertrandrussel, I gave all of the facts in that situation. I was (as a person past middle age) brought up with the notion of golliwogs being cute- kids used to collect them.

My worry is (because I’ve seen it shared on fb by people my age and older) that groups such as the NDL use this misinformed affection to get people to display golliwogs publicly, in a ‘don’t let them take our childhood memories away’ type campaign.

I wasn’t being ageist. If a younger person displayed a golliwog, I would probably (rightly or wrongly) assume that it was a deliberately racist gesture, as there’s no history attached.

This thread has shown a side of Mumsnet that I'm not familiar with, I'm so sorry you've had these responses Goodnews
I hope your colleague is made to remove it and given a warning for her behaviour.
Congratulations on your pregnancy and please don't let this thread put you off getting help and advice from here through the rest of your pregnancy and motherhood. I've made some great, supportive mates from my MN antenatal boards. None of them are racists, they'd all be horrified at the thought of someone having a golliwog.

Shockers-it is ageist to suggest that older people can be excused racist behaviour because they are somehow incapable of learning or changing. It doesn't matter how you thought about gollywogs when you were 6 - there is absolutely no excuse for still thinking that way when you're 60.

Interesting point Bertrand.

My GM was very racist - but I did try to understand why she thought in that way. I understood that as an elderly widow in the 60s, finding her neighbourhood changing from an all-white London street of Edwardian houses to a street full of flats occupied by various ethnic minorities might have felt frightening and strange to her - fear of the unknown and a huge change from what she was used to. We all fear the unknown and change. I was aware that her reactions were born of fear and that she was still a decent person underneath. It was hard to know how to react as we had to balance two things: her fear and loneliness; and the fact that her views felt unacceptable to us.

She was very old and in some ways I think she really was too old to change. Sher was just a frightened old lady.

Things have changed so much in my lifetime: things that were acceptable once (e.g. golliwogs) are no longer, and rightly so.

I think the OP is faced with a difficult situation and I wonder whether there are not some other problems with this stubborn colleague. In the same situation, if I was told that something I did or said felt uncomfortable, you would simply stop it/remove it out of kindness, even if you were not able to understand. I am wondering if there is some underlying work-related problem also going on here - e.g. status envy.

I bought one this summer from a toy shop in Whitby. I think they're cute haha! Never realised ppl hated them so much

"She was very old and in some ways I think she really was too old to change. Sher was just a frightened old lady."
I suppose it's necessary sometimes to give a bit of a pass to the very elderly. However, the people Shockers was referring to were middle aged and walking in the Lake District carrying rucksacks!

@glammother31
They look grotesque imo. A bit horror movie-ish (I didn't grow up with them)...

And they are imo clearly offensive.

She was very old and in some ways I think she really was too old to change. Sher was just a frightened old lady

Bollocks. She was racist end of story.

glammother Are you going to get rid of it now you know? They really aren't cute.

@glammother31 if the number in your name represents your age you have a serious problem in terms of your education and awareness.

Haha, LOL indeed at ‘lifestyle promoting’ glamm and her skill and knowledge of brand awareness and public market trends.

if the number in your name represents your age you have a serious problem in terms of your education and awareness.

Could refer to her (his?) date of birth, I guess...🤔

Tbh, I don't think ignorance is the main issue with things like these. Ignorance can be remedied and decent people would (imo) adjust their behaviour...

My parents were born in 1931 and have declared these images to be racist throughout my whole life.

My parents wouldn't let me collect the jam tokens (when friends were) because they thought they were racist. I'm in my 50s and my parents would be in their 80s and 90s if they were still alive. So no, it's not an age thing, just a racism thing.

Oh yeah, like we didn’t already know...racism is alive and kicking in good ol’ Great Britain. Thankfully MNHQ are on the ball to delete the vile posts from the rednecks. Appalling behaviour of a work colleague to plant a golliwog on her desk, shame on her and all those who think nothing wrong 😔

@GoodNewsTwo I hope HR and management have taken the appropriate steps regarding this matter. If you can update, it would be good to see that there was a positive resolution for you.

BertrandRussell, they were 60ish and walking through the city of Lancaster in hiking gear.

Oh, and please stop telling me what you think I’ve said.

they were 60ish and walking through the city of Lancaster in hiking gear.

So clearly old and young enough to know better.

I’m not defending them- simply recording what I saw accurately.

"Oh, and please stop telling me what you think I’ve said."
I apologise for misremembering the location- although I fail to see how it's relevant!

BertrandRussell Agree with you re: ageism, think there is a stereotyping of older people that is fairly common on MN. I have older friends, as well as other friend's parents in their 60s, 70s and 80s. Many of these people, depending on age group, were involved in anti-Fascist groups, Labour Party, and Communist groups pre-56, were on Aldermaston marches, at Greenham Common, involved in early feminist groups, supported or were part of the Anti-Apartheid movement and similar organisations.

NONE of them would ever have even considered having a golliwog in their homes, most banned books by people like Enid Blyton because of their conservative representations of race and gender and so on. Age is not a unifying category! It also seems to have been forgotten that many older people are from a range of ethnic backgrounds.

Also many of the people who founded organisations like the 'Anti-Nazi League' (which mobilised against racist right-wing groups in the 1970s) and 'Rock against Racism' (which did the same), are now well into their late 50s and 60s.