The world's gone mad. Just heard on R5 that Parenting UK has demanded Woolworths remove a bed from their website/catalogue because it's called Lolita.

[2sugars]

It's not on the bed, or anywhere, that's just what you type in when you order it.

Mad, or am I being insensitive?

It is a bit mad.

But it was also very daft to call a child's bed Lolita really.

There are millions of other names they could have chosen

Actually, whilke we are on the subjecy, why do they have to give furniture/clothing/footwear such crap names? I ordered a sofa the other dayt called "Cirrus" in the shade of "Jamaica" WQhy not just dark brown leather sofa? Tis all a bit wanbky

It's political correctness gone mad!

Some people have too much time on their hands IMO

oh GET WITH IT

we were on about htis yeasterday

it sanciton s peadophiles urges all this sexualising of kids and tbht hey dont need much of an excuse

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/1375/468588?stamp=080131151801

LOL

I actually think that naming a child's bed 'Lolita' is totally innapropriate.

I agree that it's inappropriate - I also think it's deeply sad that no-one at Woolworths knew that

I doubt the UK stock is ordered via the States

Thing in the Times about it today here

Was astonished at this in the same article
"In 2006 Tesco was removed its pole-dancing kit from the toys and games section of its website after it was accused of destroying children?s innocence." wtf. What is wrong with these people? How does a pole-dancing kit for children ever actually make it to the marketplace?

It's just a name.
If Nabokov had chosen "Jane", then nobody would be able to use that name for their kids?
So here we are, unable to name our children the way we want to just because a writer once chose a certain name for a girl who was the sexual fantasy of an old man??? And we can't even use it to name a stupid range of beds???
I think if people here had seen that name in other contexts, then the sexual connotation would go away. Ie, some people need to get out more.

I can't understand why they would want to call a bed that tbh.

And yes, it would put me off the company.

I'd rather see people get wrked up about that then a lot of the non-issues that people get offended over these days.

I'm just shocked at the ignorance of the people at Woolworths

I agree that it's not on - I despair at political correctness generally, but calling a girls' bed Lolita is actually deeply unpleasant.

However, it's obvious that not everyone knows about Nabokov, the implications of the name etc. And so I can absolutley guarantee that, with the popularity of "Lola", there will be lots of babies being called Lolita imminently, if not already. And in the end that might change the meaning of the name and its unpleasant associations will get left behind.

I'm with those who think this is shockingly inappropriate. And the defence that they were 'unaware of the novel' sounds implausible, tbh.

Sometimes designers/marketers for shops are spectacularly thick, though. I remember reading once that there was a T-shirt on sale in a high street store with a Russian slogan on it until someone (a student of Russian, I think) pointed out to the shop that it read something like 'We will cleanse Russia of all foreigners'

heh, too funny

'light of my life, fire of my loins'

tbh how many people who would buy a bed from woolies would actually make the connection?

Nabokov did not invent the name. People had used it well before and after he decided to choose it for the girl in his book. It is perfectly fine to use it if you wish too. Sexual connotations in a NAME are, like beatuy, in the eye of the beholder IMO

Lolita is such a good book. God, I love that book.