To worry most people won’t ever ‘get it’

[OverTheRainbow88]

All the marches, Protests etc and people still don’t seem to understand!

Will they ever?

But is it racist? Really? Are the racist people, the ones calling it out as being racist? I am increasingly angry and frustrated at the desperately woke finding offence at every turn, because THEIR minds are in the wrong (subconscious racism). Desperately trying to prove themselves as not racist?

I say this is as mixed race person.

Yeah that’s ridiculous I’m sorry but its a massive over reaction the world has gone mad.

Also the issue isn't with the book, it's with the T-shirt!
The shirt that has the one image taken from the books with a brown mermaid that talks about the curly hair being frizzy and wrong.
Unless I'm wrong and there are other shirts with blond and ginger mermaids aswell?

@Mookie81

Also the issue isn't with the book, it's with the T-shirt! The shirt that has the one image taken from the books with a brown mermaid that talks about the curly hair being frizzy and wrong. Unless I'm wrong and there are other shirts with blond and ginger mermaids aswell?

See, you have to make stuff up in your own head to make this sound racist.

‘Fluffy’ not frizzy and it’s not saying it’s ‘wrong’ to have that type of hair just that her hair is fluffier than the mermaid being looked for.

@strawberrymilkshakemonkey

i get that this book was problematic. but i think it needs to be part of a broader discussion about the way we talk about female body parts. any of the pages of that book could be offensive. if the skin is too bumpy, that will be offensive to some. if the eyes aren't the right colour, that will be offensive. if the legs are too long/too short, the same. yes, it was in bad taste but i don't think any of those pictures/captions would've provoked the same backlash, even though they will inevitably cause offence to some.

I'm guessing you haven't read any of these books. No one's skin is described as bumpy, and tall / short / long / eye colour etc wouldn't be discussed as none of those are textures.

I dont understand how fluffy hair is racist . I have ginger fluffy hair. Should I be offended?

Without hair products my hair feels fluffy and I love it!

It was a book before a t shirt. I don't know how the author got away with it TBH

It’s not racist (especially given the context of the books) but it is insensitive given the dialogue about black women’s hair which surely most people have heard of (e.g natural styles being seen as unprofessional etc)
All they needed to do was to have the black mermaid on the t shirt with one of the other quotes ‘tail is too shiny’ or whatever the others are. I’m sure it would be nice for a black child to have a mermaid who looks like them on their t shirt without the insensitive hair comment.

Witchenkitch
I’m normally very reluctant label things as racist but this is very insensitive. Mookie81 is right.

'Fluffy' isn't a negative. Too fluffy is the negative here. Even if only fluffy was written but as what disqualified her from whatever (being a mermaid, etc), it would still not work.

On any other head of hair, it wouldn't matter because there's no negative connotation regarding their hair. On a black girl's hair, this hits too close to home. "Too fluffy" or fluffiness or anything in general being a problem with her hair says her hair isn't good enough. This is exactly the sort of thing black people in real life are relearning to see as no longer true about their hair, hence the "natural hair movement" and learning to love their hair the way it is. (So many black people are yet to learn this still - that their hair is beautiful the way it is. Even within the 'natural hair community', some are still trying to make their hair look a certain more acceptable way to be beautiful). So it is a touchy issue and pretty cringy to read. Clearly an unaware person let this through.

This is probably not intentional but ending ignorance is one of the many ways to end racism.

I doubt most will get it now but hopefully one or two may be getting there.

In the past the texture of a black persons hair was used to prove “how black” someone was, or wasn’t, and then obviously used to oppress and discriminate. I have a friend who grew up in South Africa who told me about the “pencil test” - literally they would put a pencil in your hair and if it stayed there you had “black” hair and therefore were a second class citizen. If the pencil fell out your hair was smooth enough that you could pass as being white enough for privilege.

Being that the texture of black people’s hair has been widely used throughout history as a tool of oppression and discrimination, are there really people who cannot see how a black mermaid with the words “her hair is too fluffy” is at all offensive?!

Luvmyfluffy
Well said.

I don't think the books are racist, they seem to have produced a few different options to be more inclusive but didnt obviously think about changing the language. I think it was pretty ignorant for Tesco to pick the black mermaid & not read the room.

Which people don't understand? Tbh, I'm near my limit for a "black and white" world. My first thought when looking at those touch-and-feel baby books is actually, "So, where is the mermaid who looks like me?" OTOH, most real people - of any heritage - do not have "fluffy" hair. Like, 99.99% of people.

But, I do know there is a real genetic condition that causes "fluffy" looking hair and it affects about 100 people worldwide. Einstein is a famous person who had UHS, which is probably the sole reason for my awareness - it is super rare and pretty much just affects white people. Here's some info: rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/5404/uncombable-hair-syndrome and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncombable_hair_syndrome Black lives do matter. Based on the facts, this does not seem to be a black issue. All BAME people experience varying disadvantages based on their heritage. But, no one needs to borrow worries when they have enough real ones.

@Smileyaxolotl1

Witchenkitch I’m normally very reluctant label things as racist but this is very insensitive. Mookie81 is right.

"The shirt that has the one image taken from the books with a brown mermaid that talks about the curly hair being frizzy and wrong."

You think this is accurate? Seriously?
Has the UK had another outbreak of ergot in the rye lately? Mass hallucinations about.

If you are a person of color, your views on how this T-shirt makes you feel, and would have made you feel as a child, are valid and people should listen.

If you are white, your views on how a person of colour should feel about it are not valid and you should listen.

@laudete

Which people don't understand? Tbh, I'm near my limit for a "black and white" world. My first thought when looking at those touch-and-feel baby books is actually, "So, where is the mermaid who looks like me?" OTOH, most real people - of any heritage - do not have "fluffy" hair. Like, 99.99% of people.

But, I do know there is a real genetic condition that causes "fluffy" looking hair and it affects about 100 people worldwide. Einstein is a famous person who had UHS, which is probably the sole reason for my awareness - it is super rare and pretty much just affects white people. Here's some info: rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/5404/uncombable-hair-syndrome and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncombable_hair_syndrome Black lives do matter. Based on the facts, this does not seem to be a black issue. All BAME people experience varying disadvantages based on their heritage. But, no one needs to borrow worries when they have enough real ones.

Lol...not sure where to begin.

Why are you all assuming a cartoon of someone with brown skin is African? The mermaid in question could quite easily be Indian, Pasifika, Native American or from any number of other ethnic backgrounds. To assume that brown skin = African is pretty racist in itself.

Why couldn’t her scales have been too shiny, or something?!

Because then people would complain it was based on another black stereotype - ashy skin

Witchenkitch
I don’t know what you mean tbh - the picture selected for the t shirt was of a black/brown mermaid and the caption is ‘that’s not my mermaid (ie she’s wrong) her hair is too fluffy’
What are you disputing?

Is the hair curly?
Is it described as "frizzy and wrong"?

When people have to be dishonest about what was actually said/written/done in order to make their point, no one should take them seriously.

It's manufactured outrage and grievance theatre.

WitchenKitch
Ok so it’s not exactly those words but why are you so quick to dismiss the views of black children about how they feel about their hair?