Friday, November 11, 2011

Pippi Longstocking - Racist?


That's the question being posted.

From a piece in the Guardian...

"It is not that the figure of Pippi Longstocking is racist, but that all three in the trilogy of books have colonial racist stereotypes," said Wollrad. "I would certainly not condemn the book completely – on the contrary, there are many very positive aspects to the book, as well as being very funny, it is instructive for children as it not only has a strong female character, she is against adultism, grown-ups being in charge, and she is fiercely opposed to violence against animals – there is a very strong critique of authority in the book," she told the Local.

But Wollrad believes footnotes should be added to the text to help put racist terms in context and to prompt discussions. "The question to ask yourself is whether you could read a certain passage out loud to a black child without stopping or stumbling," she said. "Only then can you say whether it is OK or not."

Astrid Lindgren's daughter Karin Nyman emphatically rejected the charge.

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