to find it a bit annoying my mil gave dds golliwogs for christmas?

[mrsshackleton]

Mil is very right wing and hates all political correctness so among other things has presented my two dds with two gollys.She says they're not golliwogs they're jolly gollys and every child loves them, which of course the dds do. We're staying with her in the country now and I am saying to dh there is no way we can take them back to London as we will offend our friends having them lying round the house. He says if we don't take them, mil will be upset (she will). What do other mnetters think? I can see that a black doll on its own isn't intrinsically offensive but I also think it has connotations that could upset people and I know my mil has given them to be deliberately provocative. Ah, merry christmas every one!

I think you've more than adequately summed it up Droile!

Would love to see some of the pro-golly crowd come up to a London or somesuch place, and explain their views!!

My friend is black, and she bought my children Golliwogs one year for Christmas.

I hadn't seen one for years, but felt a bit nostalgic as I had one as a child, and my friend said she'd spotted them in a shop and bought 4, one for her son, one for each of my twins and one for herself, as when she had been a child her Golliwog had been her favourite toy, and preferable to the black baby doll she had.

Hope I haven't offended anybody with above post, just felt it was a different angle.

The ironic thing is, if it had been a white friend who gave the twins the gollies, I perhaps would have thought it was an odd, slightly inappropriate present, but as it was a black friend, it made it ok.

My friend, also said how much she had hated the black baby dolls she had in the early 1980s and on reflection found them more offensive with their "white features".

Just because someone black bought gollies for her kids doesn't mean they aren't offensive overall. What she might think was OK to give her kids is not what she might welcome coming from someone else. If a white friend of hers bought her kids gollies, would she be OK about it?

Black people are just that, people, individuals. Some have good taste, some don't. One person's decision is just that. Her taste doesn't dictate what's OK for anyone else of the same skin colour.

The very fact that so many posters here defending gollies say in the same breath that they wouldn't feel comfortable walking down the street with their kid holding one, or would lose it right away, says volumes to me. If they're OK, why the shame? Why not just say "yeah, they're cute, but racist as hell"

Snap to the poster who pointed out that the people who shriek the loudest about PC Gone Mad are the first ones to get their nose out of joint over someone disagreeing with them.

Hi- haven't had time to read whole post- but got the jist of it.Sorry if I've missed relevance. My sister in law is black- they- my brother and their family- find golliwogs offensive. I would get rid of them- and to be honest- I'd tell my mother in law why! We're all adults- alowed to have opinions aren't we? I think she should be told that it's not acceptable in this day and age.

Just read that mil is having a hard time- best not to tell her why in confrontatioal way then. But I do take Droiles point - she says exactly what I feel about my sil or neice and nephew being called names. No way are golliwogs acceptable in a new "modern" guise or whatever- the sentiment remains imo.

Have just read the whole thread- and I have to say the people justifying golliwogs as harmless completely horrify me. They should be illegal. They're offensive and that's that.

I also think it's appalling that it's hard to find a good make medium size black doll too- I searched and searched for one for my niece- all the posh makes were white. (We live in the North now- I know it's different in London)