In the same way, a few years later, in a country that had abolished bear baiting and with no wild bears roaming the woods, they readily took to the Teddy Bear.

Blyton wasn't overtly racist, but I certainly wouldn't want children of mine to be exposed to some of the racist terms that were in common usage back in the 1940s and 1950s. Blyton’s response to these repeated removals on the grounds of literary merit was to suggest she was too popular for librarians who just wanted a quiet life. contrary to published reports and fear gripping the nation, it appears people CAN STILL SUPPORT BLACK ACTRESSES without going to see The Help. A good many classic works of fiction have awful sexist or homophobic overtones, amongst other things.And Beauty and the Beast, though it is the mildest one on the list, is about the mixed feelings of a girl betrothed in marriage-she is going to be subjected to a “bestial” experience on her first night and she has no guarantee that the much older man she will wed will be a prince or stay a beast and beat her. Aunt Chloe– The character most credited with being the origin of the Mammy brand (nurturing, usually heavy set, asexual, ever patient, humorous, usually employed as both a maid and a nanny). In July 2018, a YouGov poll asked 1,660 Britons whether it was "racist to sell or display a golliwog doll", to which 63% responded "No", 20% "Yes", and 17% "I'm Not Sure". Ten Little Nig***s by Agatha Christie – First published with this title in 1939, then reprinted in the US with And Then There Were None in 1940. White, middle-class liberal types decided I was offended by this guy and in the year 2015 I don’t want people telling me what I should be offended by.

In 1983, Robertson's products were boycotted by Ken Livingstone's Greater London Council due to their offensiveness, [17] and in 1988 the character ceased to be used in television advertising. I think (Artwell) was trying to make a point but on the wrong basis and I think it shows a lack of sensitivity to people who don’t like that image. We sell 45 million jars of jam and marmalade each year and they have pretty much all got Golly on them," said Knox.Alternative names such as golly and golly doll have also been adopted due to association with the racial slur wog, which many dictionaries say may be derived from golliwog. Upton's Golliwogg was jovial, friendly and gallant, but some later golliwogs were sinister or menacing characters. Check the link below for more details of some earlier books and scroll down to ‘Associations with racism in the 21st Century’ where, among other recent references, a government poll (July 2018) said that 63% British people thought it was not racist ‘to sell or display a golliwog doll’. While I believe sections in The Help are just as insensitive as the books listed here, it will probably take a number of years for the rest of the world to catch on.