Gift Shop Refuses To Stop Selling ‘Racist’ Golliwog Dolls

Gift Shop Refuses To Stop Selling ‘Racist’ Golliwog Dolls

Gift Shop Refuses To Stop Selling ‘Racist’ Golliwog Dolls Image Credit: Twitter @Aunty_Em

AUSTRALIAN gift shop refuses to stop selling ‘racist’ golliwog dolls.

A boutique gift store on Australia’s Gold Coast has refused to remove its controversial gollywog dolls from its shelves, despite fury from the general public who claim the toys are racist. Avalon Home and Gifts in Paradise Point claims that the dolls are loved by children and adults who object to them are just being ‘petty’.

‘I have a collection of golliwog dolls (myself), I have also bought them for my own grand-daughter,’ one of the co-owners told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

‘Kids love them, and they are not racist, adults are… I think it is (the criticism) just petty.’

First devised by cartoonist Florence Kate Upton, the gollywog doll is recognisable for its black skin, bright red lips and frizzy hair, and is still widely acknowledged as a distasteful caricature of people of colour. Activists have long been trying to prevent the sale of these ‘racist’ dolls, and in 2018 Indigenous advocate Henrietta Marrie said it was baffling that they are still available in modern-day Australia.

‘It’s a huge problem and it’s laughable this is happening in the 21st century,’ she told the ABC.

‘It’s the look and connotation which sends a negative message. It is insulting and gives a negative image about who we (Indigenous) are as people.

‘Let’s get them off the shelves and educate people as to why we’ve done that.’

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Sarah Keane

Former teacher and health services manager with a Degree in English, Sarah moved to Spain from Southern Ireland with her husband, who runs his own car rental business, in 2019. She is now enjoying a completely different pace and quality of life on the Costa Blanca South, with wonderful Spanish and expat friends in Cabo Roig. Sarah began working with Euro Weekly News in 2020 and loves nothing more than bringing all the latest national and international news to her local community.

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