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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Am I being overly annoyed - company only has white girls to chose an image from

168 replies

ScrantonTheElectricCity · 19/12/2018 15:09

Happy to be told iambu. Also happy to be told I'm not!! Hope the images load, not sure if they are in the correct order, from the preview it looks like you should read them 2,3,1

Am I being overly annoyed - company only has white girls to chose an image from
Am I being overly annoyed - company only has white girls to chose an image from
Am I being overly annoyed - company only has white girls to chose an image from
OP posts:
vuripadexo · 19/12/2018 16:16

KickAssAngel
When H&M sold those sweatshirts with the monkey comments on, people complained to/boycotted H&M, not the producers. I know that websites are different, but surely neither the producer nor the website should be promoting a product that's for white people only?

H&M commission (i.e. choose) a limited no of products to be sold in store. Zazzle don't limit the submissions at all and basically don't control what is sold. They can't. It's completely different.

SushiMonster · 19/12/2018 16:18

White ethnicity makes up 87% of the UK population.

So the designer is catering for the largest market.

53rdWay · 19/12/2018 16:20

I feel several posters have missed that this is a personalised bag.

OP is not complaining that the manufacturer is selling a bag with a white child’s image on it. OP is complaining that this is a bag with a design you can personalise for the individual child, but you can’t opt for non-white skin.

SushiMonster · 19/12/2018 16:20

@holidayhope but we do have plenty of black people who live here. They should be represented.

3% of the UK population are black or black British

The designer is not cutting out a huge market

AmyDowdensLeftLeftShoe · 19/12/2018 16:22

OP the designer didn't think there was a market for having girls with diverse skin colours. By you contacting the designer and pointing out there is will resolve the issue.

This is why you are getting the comments you are being ridiculous instead of moaning get on and do it.

Btw I have spent the past few months contacting my local supermarkets and pointing out there are markets in the local area for a range of products but they don't stock hem. I now just need to contract one about some children's clothes which should be unisex but are gendered.

CallMeRachel · 19/12/2018 16:22

I think YABU and looking for racism when it's not even there.

The designer is a small business selling bags to the biggest market she can - which if in the UK is to white girls.

She cannot possibly produce bags/adverts to identify with Black/Asian/mixed races and every thing in between.

Do you expect her to represent disabilities too? Should her bags include Asian boys in wheelchairs? Ginger girls with squint eyes and glasses?

Not everything is about you, or your colour ffs.

If you were even half sensible you'd have already emailed the designer and asked her if she could make you one of a black girl.

No, instead you choose to start a post on here trying to stir up racist shite.

53rdWay · 19/12/2018 16:24

Racist shite doesn’t seem to be awfully hard to stir up on MN, really.

AmyDowdensLeftLeftShoe · 19/12/2018 16:24

@SushiMonster they are also cutting out girls whose ethnic origins are from various parts of Asia plus those of mixed ethnicity, who don't have white skin.

HeadsDownThumbsUpEveryone · 19/12/2018 16:25

The truly great thing OP is I have just been on to customise the bag and it gives you the option of having the picture in black and white.

This would eliminate the problem you have entirely whilst allowing you to buy the bag with the design you like without having to get in touch, would that be an option?

holidayhope · 19/12/2018 16:25

Wow @SushiMonster I had no idea it was that little! I live in a London borough I can easily take a bus and be the only white person on quite a full bus in places so I'm often upset it's so difficult to find black or mixed people represented in shops.

This is online though so seems more understandable if it's actually that low

SushiMonster · 19/12/2018 16:27

@holidayhope I know right? I was super surprised when I googled it because I live in london and so we see a much greater diversity than there is across the entire population

WorraLiberty · 19/12/2018 16:28

YANBU OP but as others have said, it's really not the fault of Zazzle.

KickAssAngel · 19/12/2018 16:28

Actually, if a shop in a mall was selling something with such obvious racial bias, I would expect both the shop and the mall to respond well to concerns about that.

And deliberately excluding people based on their race is an act of racism, and illegal. Doesn't matter what % of the population is what skin tone. Providing something for white people only isn't OK. The product is meant to be personalized to reflect the person who will be using it. Basically, this product is intended for white people only.

Those of you telling the OP to get a grip: Do you want racist products to be sold? If not, why bother to object to the OP raising this? Unless you specifically and clearly want to encourage racism, why not just let the OP raise her concerns? It's doing you no harm for OP to ask these questions, so why would you try to shut her down?

MrsJayy · 19/12/2018 16:28

I think the responses you are getting are ridiculous and racist op the designer manages to do outfits and haircolour but not skintone or ethnicity it can't be difficult to knock up an image if you are a good designer have a few options on your website not all girls come in the same colour.

vuripadexo · 19/12/2018 16:31

53rdWay
I feel several posters have missed that this is a personalised bag.

OP is not complaining that the manufacturer is selling a bag with a white child’s image on it. OP is complaining that this is a bag with a design you can personalise for the individual child, but you can’t opt for non-white skin.

Lots of people get that. Zazzle isn't the manufacturer though. They are a marketplace like etsy or ebay. They don't source or commission designers. They are a platform. OP is complaining to the wrong person.

Also she stated in her message that zazzle "allow only pictures of white girls on their products". Complete nonsense.

WorraLiberty · 19/12/2018 16:31

3% of the UK population are black or black British

Blimey I had no idea it was so low.

Another one living in London here. Some days I'm the only white person on a crowded bus, or high street.

Having said that, whenever I holiday in the UK at the seaside/countryside I do notice most people around me are white and it feels strange.

KickAssAngel · 19/12/2018 16:31

She cannot possibly produce bags/adverts to identify with Black/Asian/mixed races and every thing in between.

The entire point of the bags is that colors can be changed to order. If the clothes can be different colors, so can the skin.

TemptressofWaikiki · 19/12/2018 16:33

Directing your gripe at Zazzle is unreasonable. With regards to the designer/maker of the bag, I am undecided. Part of me thinks that if the girl character is customisable, then why not her skin colour too? BUT at the same time, this might be someone from a predominantly white background who caters for the market they know, which is the vast majority of Caucasian consumers. Also, with cartoon depictions, there is a huge risk of getting it very wrong and veering into something that is while unintentionally, seen as racist if the image appears too stereotypical. I have a mate who used to do handmade dolls, not ones that are very life-like and natural but with simplified features and a bit cartoon like. She wanted to be inclusive and offered a range of these dolls with different ethnicities. Someone complained to Etsy that her dolls were racist and got a lot of their mates to follow suit. She stopped selling through that platform because she was devastated that she got it so wrong.

MrsJayy · 19/12/2018 16:33

callmeRachel you are a delight! Not everything is not about you or your colour is just a pick of your offensive post. Hmm

53rdWay · 19/12/2018 16:33

Yes, vuripadexo, and I agree with you Zazzle’s not the manufacturer, but I’m talking about the “well why wouldn’t it have a picture of a white
girl, most girls in the UK are white” type replies.

CloserIAm2Fine · 19/12/2018 16:34

YANBU to be angry that there’s no option to customise skin tone on a customisable product

YABU to blame zazzle though, since it’s not their design or their fault. It’s the designer of the item who is to blame, zazzle is a platform like Etsy or eBay, they don’t control the designs.

holidayhope · 19/12/2018 16:35

Well OP I hope your post raises both awareness and it's probably going to increase sales as more people see the bag so hopefully the designer will oblige and update soon for you

Charley50 · 19/12/2018 16:35

The person making the bags is closing off their product to quite a percentage of the population; bad for business. And a bit mad since everything else is personalised.
I presume it's an oversight. Although a bit of a glaring one. I would contact them.

WorraLiberty · 19/12/2018 16:38

The entire point of the bags is that colors can be changed to order. If the clothes can be different colors, so can the skin.

Exactly this ^^

HeadsDownThumbsUpEveryone · 19/12/2018 16:38

I think some people are getting confused the personalisable element of the bag is the name. You cannot change any part of the image other then applying filters such as sepia and black and white.

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