I was a bit taken aback when I was looking for a dolly for my DD's birthday and I came across this:
{[https://ssl3.lon.gb.securedata.net/rosablue.com/dolls.htm It's the Mimi doll]]
I made an enquiry about the size of the lovely dolls on this site and also about the Mimi doll. I just felt it was a total caricature of the black slave especially when you can get her dress embroidered with Every Day is Wash Day .
The response to my enquiry was:
Mimi doubled as a student and our live-in nanny when we lived in Cape Town in the 80s.
She was very much part of the family when Penelope started to make her dolls. The whole family was still all living under the same roof then and each of us provided a name for at least one of her prototypes. Which is they all take their names after one of us.
Mimi liked the doll then and it while I understand the sensibility in Britain over the "golliwog" image, that is not what it means to us and we would be loathe to discontinue it.
Am I being over sensitive to find this doll offensive and not buy from the site as a result? Their other dolls are lovely.