Golliwog Dolls are based on the children’s books by Florence Kate Upton, the first book featuring a Golliwog was written in 1895. The popular black faced minstrel baby doll went on to appear in many more books and as an advertising character for the next hundred years. However, the ‘word’ golliwag, has come to be an insult in England; much the same way ‘Sambo’ from The Story of Little Black Sambo, did here in the states about 30 years ago. (And which eventually helped contribute to the demise of the 1000+ Sambo’s restaurant chain!)
Illustration from the book
Can a doll be racist? Or is it the mental stuff that both races bring to the doll that is the problem? Face it, some people are racist, and both sides of the color line know what it means to call someone a wog or golly. etc. For over a hundred years, the golliwog image has been ubiquitous in England, both as a doll, and as an advertising mascot by a jam and jelly manufacturer on their label and their promotional materials. On the British ebay©, there are well over 200 listings for collectible dolls and merchandise.
We don’t sell Golliwog dolls, although we do sell dozens of black baby dolls. Golliwogs are still sold in England, by Trendle International.
Razz Golliwog courtesy Trendle Int'l
I guess the bottom line is: If someone gave us a Golliwog, would we be embarrassed to put it on the shelf with the rest of our doll collection? And if not, should we be?
2 responses so far ↓
1 AT Flournoy // Apr 28, 2009 at 7:12 pm
The doll itself is an object with no conscience to weigh whether its existence is offending someone or not. So the doll can not be racist, but the intent of the doll’s creator definitely can be racist. I have to say that I personally would not own a doll with a history such as this because of what it represents. It really isn’t up for interpretation; the character, Golliwog, is in blackface. Pretty straight forward. An important question to ask is what is the motivation behind owning the doll? Especially since it is relatively new. A remake of an image we all hope would pass, but seems to be “resurrected” by this toy maker.
2 AT Flournoy // Apr 28, 2009 at 7:28 pm
…one last comment…the trendle doll is not a relic. It is not an antique. It is not a doll that had been passed down from one generation to another and therefore may have some kind of “sentimental” value. It came to fruition because some one at Trendle made a conscientious decision to bring this type of doll back into the world.