Golliwog

This doll was on display in Dorothy Clay’s Whanganui home in the 1960s. While her grandchildren were sometimes allowed to take the waistcoat on and off the doll, it was mainly for looking at, not for playing with.

The doll is in the style of a ‘golliwog,’ a fictional black character created by Florence Kate Upton in her 1895 book The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwogg. Golliwogs were a popular children’s toy in New Zealand as elsewhere in the first half of the twentieth century, but by the late twentieth century were increasingly seen as symbols of racial insensitivity.
 
Upton’s character was drawn as a caricature of a black-faced minstrel – which itself represented a demeaning image of Black people – and her books reinforced racist stereotypes (Pilgrim 2012). Later depictions of golliwogs often reflected negative and deeply offensive attitudes about people of African descent.
 
Many New Zealanders fondly remember playing with golliwogs as children and some people still defend their right to make and sell them. However, while they were once considered acceptable many people now regard golliwogs as offensive because they perpetuate the sorts of stereotypes that underpin racism. 
 
References

• Human Rights Commission. n.d. What is wrong with golliwogs and blackface? Frequently Asked Questions. Human Rights Commission website. https://tikatangata.org.nz/resources-and-support/frequently-asked-questions#what-is-wrong-with-golliwogs-and-blackface 
• Pilgrim, David. 2012. The Golliwog Caricature. Ferris State University. Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. https://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/golliwog/
• Veart, David. 2014. Hello Boys & Girls! A New Zealand Toy Story. Auckland: Auckland University Press.