Now, with less racism

[jethrien]

Someone gave ARR a cute little outfit with a red fleece jacket that has a penguin on it. Black penguin, red beak. The first time I put him in it, I got him to daycare and then actually looked at it. The beak was pointed towards the viewer, so it was just an oval instead of a point, with a smile...I had the sudden, too-late, kinda horrifying realization that what I'm pretty sure was really intended to be a penguin looked, at a quick glance, an awful lot like those incredibly racist pickaninny dolls from the Jim Crow era. *facepalm*

I have subsequently sewn a little white triangular beak over top, so that it is more obvious now that this creature is, in fact, a penguin.

Oy.

Comments

[cubby-t-bear.livejournal.com]

Fwiw, I suspect very few people would've recognized a racist doll from the Jim Crow era, so probably minimal danger?

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

They're still considered pretty charged. I think the risk of someone being off-put is fairly high.