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

[ScrantonTheElectricCity]

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

I've searched for the product as well and you can't customise ANY aspects of the image itself, only the text and the bag it's on. So not sure why OP said on the first page that you can change the colour of the clothes?

Yes, ideally there would be options for different skin tones. But the picture is not customisble at all; there's also no way to make the girl blonde, or blue-eyed, or curvy, or or or....

Sorry, I forgot to make my point in my comment. The seller does not seem to be specifically excluding races any more than excluding any other physical characteristic other than the ones on the cartoon.

I would genuinely be interested to know what the Commission for Racial Equality would do about this.

I can't see through all the white privilege being thrown about on this thread.

It's embarrassing and as a white person, I can only apologise for the ignorance that is being displayed.

I can't see through all the white privilege being thrown about on this thread.
Yes, there's so much white privilege when people point out that complaining to company A about company B's products is illogical.

I'll complain to Tesco about the packaging on walkers crisps because well, they should sort it out.
Or I'll email eBay and demand to know why Cutiepie83 has only got Barbie dolls on sale when I'm specifically looking for a Bratz doll.

I think YANBU. Zazzle should have guidelines/stipulations to designers about inclusivity. I don’t think it’s ok that on a customisable thing there is such racial bias. I get that it’s a marketplace and doesn’t create the designs, but after being alerted to this they should be getting in touch with the designer themselves imo, as well as looking at reviewing their policies.

There is a hair extension shop in my local town which caters just for black people, ie hair texture and colour specifically for black people. They don’t cater for me. What do I do - berate the shop for not being inclusive? Nope - I just go three streets on to where I can purchase my blonde extensions. The OP should find another site who can accommodate what she needs. This inclusivity should be a two way street.

If the vast majority of all the other hair shops (assuming you’re in the UK) didn’t have zero clue about or interest in catering for Afro hair, you might have a point. Having a shop that does focus on Afro hair isn’t anti-inclusive; but a massive, international website that doesn’t take responsibility for a lack of diversity in its options IS anti-inclusive.

Zazzle does not market itself as a site catering only for white people. Why should the OP have to go elsewhere?

Live How many hair dressers are there in the town? Now how many of them will cater to Afro hair? So there is one, just one, that doesn’t cater to your hair. And do you have any idea the amount of time, effort and product black women spent on their hair?

Expecting a specialist Afro hair dressers to cater for white hair is in no way the same thing.

Yes the op is asking the wrong people, but she has a valid question.

@TheRightHonourable I’m genuinely interested in your view and not being argumentative for the sake of it.

If the situation were as the OP describes: clothing elements of the image customisable, but the designer didn’t bother to include skin tone in that, I’d think that it was poor.

I also think it’s poor that the representation of non white is so woeful - not on Zazzle, everywhere.

But I genuinely do not see what the seller or Zazzle has done wrong here. The seller has chosen this image to try to sell. She has also created other images that are of African American. Zazzle has hosted both images.

If it is my white privilege that stops me seeing what the seller has done wrong - educate me.

In this case, I think the OP is wrong. She has misrepresented the situation (the customisation options for this product) - and it was nonsense to accuse Zazzle of only “allowing” white images, in the same complaint where she said there were images of black girls for ballet, on their site.

White privilege is a real issue, under representation of non white is a real issue. I think the OP undermines that by being pretty close to “professionally offended”.

Chester - not talking hairdressers here, but a shop which sells extensions to clip in or weave in yourself, together with hair products for that type of hair. The one I go to instead actually caters for all hair extensions for all hair types. The shop staff in the first shop sell the items, but don’t do any hairdressing.

Live, It’s nice the shop you go to does cater to all hair types to some degree. But having a specialist hair shop to cater to specialist hair needs isn’t anti-inclusive. More to the point, Zazzle isn’t supposed to be specialist in that sense: it’s supposed to be for everybody.

Ellisandra

I'm black and all the pious virtue signalling on the thread is more dangerous to me than the lack of diversity. Most people can understand that it's better to have more people represented and would accept that it's harder for POC to find items that represent them.

Instead the OP blatantly misrepresents/lies about the product. Her messages are completely ridiculous and OTT. Then she ignores all reasonable comments and focuses on only the ones that reinforce her extreme viewpoint. This is interspersed with people apologizing for being white and suggesting that this is illegal and advocating for a law that would bankrupt most small producers/businesses.

Tbh I think a lot of "diversity advocates" on mumsnet work for the daily mail. I've never heard any black person in real life ever argue the way mumsnet "anti racism" experts do.

If you want to turn people against diversity the best way to do it is to pretend that black people are belligerent anti white morons instead of raising real concerns about how black people are treated. Look at this whole facebook/russia thing. People are being paid to sow dissent.

Real black people aren't stupid. We know what an online marketplace is. Please be more skeptical of online "social justice advocates". Especially when they are anonymous.

I hope I’m not a belligerent, anti-white moron.

I was taking OP at face value when she wrote “You can personalize an image - background colour, name it, clothes- but the only actual choice is a white girl. You can't personalise the girls skin tone” and thinking the character herself was personalisable, yet there was only one skin tone offered. Which seemed rubbish. But now I’m reading Ellisandra’s latest post saying it’s just the text and fabric that you can change? Is this the case as that obviously changes the situation if so (visually impaired and can’t work the zazzle website myself to check this)

WhippettyWeekend

OP is a liar. There are three different bags with different versions of the girl but you cannot customize her clothes.

Name calling is against the rules but like I said before Real black people aren't stupid. We know what an online marketplace is.

Meaningful critique is one thing. Pretending that this t shirt is illegal is daily mail scaremongering.

@vuripadexo thank you for explaining. I thought from what OP wrote that the girl herself was supposed to be fully customisable but white was the only option, in which case I do maintain it would have been a nice gesture of Zazzle to contact the seller. But turns out that’s all irrelevant.

I think YABU. If you want a specific product you can find the specific product elsewhere. Not literally everyone can sell literally everything to suit literally everyone. Blimey.

@ScrantonTheElectricCity

You're definitely not being unreasonable. If I was gifting a black girl a personalised bag, and come across some nice bags that have no option to change the skin colour from white, I would be very annoyed.

I hope you manage to find a nice bag for the girl. Some people on here are being unnecessarily harsh tonight

I don't understand how you could change the color of clothing etc. Those bags are usually just decals that they iron onto clothing. Are you sure you have it right OP? They might actually only have one picture in that design. Could you find a decal you like on ebay or esty and make your own? Much cheaper that way as well and a better quality bag.

Aghhh didn't say it was ridiculous to want a product with a picture of a black girl on it, she said the Op was being ridiculous in this situation, which she is. She is complaining about something which can be resolved by using a different design or website its not like she cannot get the desired product anywhere else.

Exactly. So annoying when people put words in your mouth.

Of course wanting a black girl on a bag would NOT be ridiculous. But the reaction to this situation is!

You're definitely not being unreasonable. If I was gifting a black girl a personalised bag, and come across some nice bags that have no option to change the skin colour from white, I would be very annoyed.

It this is the point - it isn’t a personalised bag. Being able to have a photo of the recipient printed onto the bag would be personalisation. It turns out this bag isn’t even customisable (despite the OP suggesting otherwise).

@ScrantonTheElectricCity you seem to have gone awfully quiet from your high horse goady post??

Are you going to issue a formal apology to both Zazzle and the designer Monica??

You (and other silly sheep who jump on the racist bandwagon posters) made some pretty bold statements about her selling being 'illegal' and being 'racist'

Bad and false press like this that you have started can ruin a small business, was that your intention from the outset since you made specific claim the design clothing was customisable

Hopefully you'll be getting contact from her legal team for slander.

I'm also surprised that so much of the UK is white. (I am white). If I'd guessed, I'd have said 60% white, 40% Asian and 10% black. But I live in West Yorkshire where there are a lot of Asian people so maybe that's not the case everywhere?

CallMeRachel where did I say it was illegal and racist? Point me to my posts using those words please. You can't, as I didn't. So don't accuse me. My OP was very clear on what I was asking and I stand by it.
The comments have (by others not you) been on the whole very balanced, and as I have said I appreciate different POVs.
My OP wasnt meant to be goady, it was genuine, but if people want to look at it that way that's up to them.
Anyway am off now and getting ready for my case for "slander" lol (think you may have meant libel - best to get it correct)
If MN think this thread should be removed that's up to them, will report it myself and ask them.

@ScranTheElectricCity before you disappear again and try to get your thread deleted, can you first explain why you said the design had customisable clothes colours but not skin tone - when that’s not true?

And comment on whether the seller’s offer on Zazzle of other images that are African American was ignored because it didn’t fit your narrative?