Do you consider Gollywog dolls to be racist?

[Tsia]

no way- this world is far too pc. and racism issues get silly sometimes!

racist card pulled too much and nobody says much incase of offending people. Whats so bad about a golly wog doll!? who is it offending? its material stuffed for gods sake. just like a teddy bear. Isnt upsy Daisy a bit dark on 'IN THE NIGHT GARDEN'? nobody mentions her.

My partner out patrolling pulled over a car driving irratically the other day.. blacked out windows, big exhaust, total boy racer car, acting.. well like a boy racer.
They driver got out, he was black. Accused my partner of being racist cos he pulled him over! first thing he said! it had blacked out windows ffs! Hes used to that being said to him though.. he said its thefirst line of defence if they know theyve done wrong. Also once his collegue was on crowd control at some festival with his police dog. dog indicated against an asian guy.. asian guy accused dog of being racist cos he wasnt white!! ?WTF? no- cos the dog can smell drugs on you.. dog cant tell the colour of his skin!! - idiot!

just cos ppl have different coloured skin doesnt make them any worse or better in my eyes. people are people, they are what they are. Its such a shame that certain things have picked up stigma and negativity towards things/words etc. Racism gets right on my goat!

 

[cherryglitter]

No I don't

 

[pinklightbulb]

Not at all.

 

[myasmumma]

no way- this world is far too pc. and racism issues get silly sometimes!

racist card pulled too much and nobody says much incase of offending people. Whats so bad about a golly wog doll!? who is it offending? its material stuffed for gods sake. just like a teddy bear. Isnt upsy Daisy a bit dark on 'IN THE NIGHT GARDEN'? nobody mentions her.

My partner out patrolling pulled over a car driving irratically the other day.. blacked out windows, big exhaust, total boy racer car, acting.. well like a boy racer.
They driver got out, he was black. Accused my partner of being racist cos he pulled him over! first thing he said! it had blacked out windows ffs! Hes used to that being said to him though.. he said its thefirst line of defence if they know theyve done wrong. Also once his collegue was on crowd control at some festival with his police dog. dog indicated against an asian guy.. asian guy accused dog of being racist cos he wasnt white!! ?WTF? no- cos the dog can smell drugs on you.. dog cant tell the colour of his skin!! - idiot!

just cos ppl have different coloured skin doesnt make them any worse or better in my eyes. people are people, they are what they are. Its such a shame that certain things have picked up stigma and negativity towards things/words etc. Racism gets right on my goat!

I totally agree..just because they can say its racist they will...if there was a white doll called a honkey I wouldn't care its just a word it isn't hurting anyone its just what it was called...like baa baa black sheep, you cant even say the colour black in a nursery rhyme now..what is the world coming to

no i dont think its racist

 

[Blue_bumpkin]

But the doll came first, and thats when people started uses the word 'wog' as a racist insult... so no, imo golliwog dolls are not racist - nor was their creation intended to be racist - it was a childrens book. The word 'wog' when used as an insult is obviously racist, but thats only because of people using it with the intent to insult iygwim?

People see them as racist aswell though probably because they were used on posters enciting race hate, largely in america - hence the connection.

 

[kitty1987]

I dont think they are racist and I'm half black. I just think some very ignorant people decided to use the term wog as a racist comment and they got a bad name from that

 

[Laura2919]

NO! I think too much is made of things these days and its sad. When I was a kid we used to collect the little gollywogs on the side of Jam jars! So sad how its made a big deal out of

 

[dani_tinks]

Definatley not.

 

[TennisGal]

Yes, I do. Not only have there been horrific 'songs' that have accompanied tales about golliwogs, but their depiction in childrens fiction and literature was always untrustworthy, stupid and completely ignorant. That is not a perception that is ok to pass down.

It's an unpleasant charicature, and it makes people feel uncomfortable - therefore it has no place in society today.

I don't think we are overly PC in terms of racial depictions.

 

[AppleBlossom]

Don't find them racist either. G has one that FOB bought her on holiday (but he WAS racist and was taking photos of it and sending it to his equally racist friends )

 

[Reedy]

I dont personally x If there were no dolls that were black I'm sure that would be considered racist too.

Not sure how true this is but my grandad told me that WOG stood for West Origin Gentleman - how thats racist i dont know but I guess it is when its used in a racist way iykwim. The meaning above I assume is where Gollywog came from & not a racist term.

 

[emilyjade]

i dont think they are to look at i think they are strangely cute BUT i dont know the story behind them, arnt they illegal now anyway? also i havent read the whole thread incase thats been answered

 

[blinkybaby]

My child-minder when I was little used to have a couple, she'd get them out especially for when the inspector came round to have a good old argument with them about it!

They would ask if it was really appropriate to have dolls like that in the house and she would argue that the children had no idea what they represent, to them they're just another doll like the other raggy type dolls she had. I can vouch for that as I never had any idea they were anything other than toys, never even considered that they were originally based on a black character.

I can see why people do see them as racist as it's the fact that the name is used as a racist insult these days. I think they're a valuable cultural artifact, yes a bit outdated and a bit un p/c, but I can think of far more racist things than this. xx

 

[Rhi_Rhi1]

no...

 

[Whisper]

Nope no different to having a black baby doll IMO.

 

[Dream.A.Dream]

I think I'm with the majority on this one xx

 

[Hayley90]

ohh now i know what they are, then no i dont. my mum has a mini one on her keyring.

i see them as just another character. like bertie basset, or noddy or peppa pig! no difference to me at all.

 

[suzanne108]

Not at all.

Funny story though....my mum had one when she was little, one day she was out shopping with my grandma and she saw a black person which I guess was pretty rare in my area 40 odd years ago, so she shouted "Look mummy, a real life gollywog!!". My grandma was mortified Kids eh?!

I've never even heard the term "wog" before!

 

[rwhite]

I voted yes, because I presume a long time ago they would've been racist (they've been banned in some places! I haven't seen one for years!) but nowadays they aren't, so

 

[BlackBerry25]

I swear when I went to holland, gollywogs are used instead of Santa... At Christmas!!! Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!

I don't see them as rascist at all?

No thats Black Pete. Sorry if someone else already answered. And I find Black Pete a bit racist, because isn't he essentially Santa's slave?