The Golliwog

The latter.

So imjingl you think we're making a fuss about nothing?

All I can say is that I loved my golliwog when I was small.

So did I, numberplease. Innocently unaware of how politically incorrect I was being, too.

I'm sure you did and you had no idea of the racial aspects of that doll - but - we are now more aware of the fact that a doll like this or a show like 'The Black and White Minstrels is so offensive to Afro-Caribbean people.

I do think that for women of our generation it's hard to get het-up about golliwogs - we just accepted them as toys and characters in children's books when we were small. I know I never made any connection between a golliwog and a black person.

We didn't then - this is my point. Not that what we did in all innocence but what we know now and how behaviour, thought and ideas have changed. People used to put butter on burns - we now know that butter literally cooks the burn - we put it under a cold tap - that is education and knowlege. Yet today a lot of people seem to be unaware or dont care, that's what I find incredible

A lot of things happened in ages past that wouldn't happen now. It was a different world. There's no point getting het up about the past. You can't change the past.

No, we didn't, Anagram. As you say, we didn't recognise any of our dolls, teddies, gollies as being people. Similarly, collecting the Robertson's Gollies from the jars of jam was simply a way of getting a badge to put on our primary school blazers. There was no realisation of what they stood for. Wrong, perhaps, but we were small and unaware. My mother loved the Black and White Minstrel Show - she thought Dai Francis was a wonderful singer - and I really don't think she considered the fact that the performers dressed as black people to be strange or odd. It was how it was....again, wrong. To remain ignorant of a person's culture or feelings is wrong, of course, but surely not if this is through innocence.

I think dorsetpennt it isn't how we perceive the word/toy ...it is how the afro-carribean peoples view this that is important ...and therefore it does become a racist term.

But then I can be quite easily shocked by the insensitivity of others ...like seeing a young woman with a push-chair run over and jam an elderly lady's white stick in the wheels of the push-chair and complain that she couldn't move the puch -chair!! On us intervening and explaining ...she was horrified! How can someone in their early twenties not know why someone carries a white stick!!

I loved the golliwog brooches you got from Robertsons the jam people.

I wonder if you can still get them.

No you cannot jj ...for obvious reasons

Bet you can, on ebay, jingl. When I first started browsing ebay years ago, I came across the hymn sheet for Ronnie Kray's funeral.....who on earth would want that!

What's the betting that the maker of golliwogs has no idea of the offence? Either that or he/ she is doing it deliberately, which is scary.

I've still got my GW - wearing his red tail coat, but sadly no trousers. I loved him to bits and his name or colour meant absolutely nothing to me, he was just a toy like all my others; I also had a black doll called Susie and my grandaughter has her Mummy's life sized black baby doll (Caroline) which she plays with all the time and kisses to death

Not offensive. Loved my golliwog so much I bought DD one when she was born. The bright colours and facial features attract a baby's attention.

I had a black doll called Trudy, and white doll called Christine-Jennifer. I don't really think I noticed any difference, apart from the fact that one was bigger than the other.

I'm sure there must be Afro-Caribbean staff or pupils at the University, dorsetpennt. Perhaps it would be better to let them complain to the distributor of the round-robin if they wish to.

Can you tell us more about the history of golliwogs, dorset, and why they are considered offensive? I'm asking because the golliwogs (soft toy plus various badges and little figures from jam) I had and was aware of when I was little had no negative connotations for me and I'm pretty sure they were not designed to be insulting. I knitted a golliwog when I was seven years old and had it for years. It was part of my family along with my teddy and my other dolls. My sister had a black girl doll called Caroline. Surely we were just accepting that some people had dark skin and (to quote my four-year-old daughter when she was describing a girl in her class who had lovely 'afro' hair, back in 1985) 'fluffy hair'.

Please educate me. My current view is that if no offence is/was intended, no 'looking down on', then why is offence taken? Is it the name 'golliwog' that's offensive rather than the thing? That I could understand.

Someone will tell us teddy bears are offensive to grizzlies next.

Mind you, Barbie dolls are pretty offensive.

You can get black Barbies now. Oh (excuse me, but) bloody hell!

I never gave DD a Barbie because that doll was really offensive. I knit teddies for DS and dressed very old bears in hand knit smoking jackets, that was probably demeaning to bears.

But surely better than a bare bear?

You can find the history on Google he came over as a rag doll at end of 19th century first known as a Golly Dolly.