School of Politics and International Relations

Professor Tim Bale, To me, golliwogs are racist – but a tearoom tangle and a new poll shows Britain disagrees

20 September 2017

Professor Tim Bale writes for The Conversation on a study that reveals the majority of British people don’t really have a problem with golliwogs: “Of course, what is and isn’t considered offensive or racist is socially constructed and reconstructed over time and space. Why is a golliwog, for instance, deemed acceptable when a stuffed toy based on a caricature of other enslaved racial minorities probably wouldn’t be? And could we – should we – try to change people’s views on golliwogs by telling them more about their origins?”
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