Is the traditional image of the "sock monkey" racist?

I have never thought of them as racist. They are monkeys. Are monkeys inherently racist?

You’d have to be looking really hard for a racial connotation to think a sock monkey is racist, in my mind.

It never entered my mind that it was a racist thing. Now, if it were an Al Jolson sock puppet I’d be up in arms.

I think that the sock monkey is cute, but never knew that they had a raicist connotation. Could someone explain what that is?

@GracieT Perhaps it has to be associated with a specific person such as this but this crafter of sock monkeys asked a similar question.

I have never thought of it as being racist?

It’s a sock monkey, not a Golliwog. I’m pretty sure they’re actually meant to be monkeys; they can’t help looking like they might be misinterpreted as racist stereotypes.

I kind of have the feeling that anyone who seriously and automatically sees a racial connotation in something as benign as the sock monkey has racist tendencies themselves…

Not directed at you, @Kayak8, by the way.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard I think it is the opposite of what you said, that racial connotation being found in something benign as the sock monkey may come from someone who has experienced racism and that finding it benign may, in fact, be the sign of racism.

For a bit more context: I work in an environment where very benign things (in my opinion) ARE seen as racist. I always try to work it out in my head (you know, how much of it is my own internalized racism and did I somehow inadvertently offend) before I respond. What may seem benign to me may be very offensive to someone else because I lack their perspective or life experience. As a result, I was kind of blind-sided by the sock monkey thing.

What say ye about The Sock Obama one?

@Cruiser I had a similar link above—that’s actually part of why I asked the question. I do think that is racist because of casting a person as a monkey (which has more traditional racist overtones).

So calling a kid a “cheeky monkey” is racist now? along with calling someone “you big ape!” ...?

and “finding [a toy monkey] benign may, in fact, be the sign of racism.”…?

…
OHMIGOD I NEVER REALISED EVERYONE I EVER MET WAS A RACIST!!!

@Kayak8 In this instance it does cross the threshold towards a personal attack whether racist or less than PC is a matter of context for sure. Sock monkeys IMO are a harmless traditional toy and as were Lawn Jockeys once a traditional lawn ornament until someone decides to make a stink out of it.

Saying “Asian people are closer to monkeys than humans” is very racist.
Making a toy monkey is not.

Saying “Black people look like slugs” is very racist.
Making a toy slug is not.

Saying “White people are like filthy sunburnt swine” is very racist.
Making a toy pig is not.

I have never personally thought of them as being racist, but I can actually see how someone could come to that conclusion. The traditional look of their face resembles blackface, which might be where the connection comes in mentally?
Just guessing.

Anyhow, I don’t think they are typically considered to have any negative connotation. Just cute.

Unless it was intentionally done to be racist, making an Obama sock monkey is more a lapse of judgement than a racial attack.

The look of them has always been questionable to me, but I don’t think they are racist in and of themselves. The Obama doll is just crass.

The original intent of Sock Monkeys didn’t start out to be anything racial. Other than a few questionable one-offs, I’d say that it is still not the intent. Just look at the images of sock monkies on the internet.

Should the monkey be white?

@ChazMaz Equal Opportunity

@Pied_Pfeffer I don’t think it started out to be racist (but I don’t think lawn jockeys started out to be racist, I think they became so over time as sensitivity to racism increased). I have seen that they are becoming really popular again (I had one as a kid that my grandmother made for me from the socks at my link above). I think @TheOnlyNeffie may be on the right track regarding “blackface” for how the racial connotation comes in.

I never thought they were racist either until it was pointed out to me by an African American on my staff. That is why I am asking the question.

@Kayak8 And now you do?
What authority do they have to make that judgement anyway?

Surely racism is about intent.
If you buy it and hang it from a tree, with a sign saying “YOU NEXT, NIGGER”, that is very racist.
If you buy it and put it on your mantelpiece, that is an ornament.

…

And, hmmm, are garden gnomes racist towards ‘whites’, because they exaggerate the facial characteristics of Europeans!? I DO BELIEVE THEY ARE!
I should know, seeing as I am a European!

I bet you all thought garden gnomes were benign! I think this may, in fact, be a sign of y’all racism!!

All people look like monkeys.
All monkeys look like people.

No big deal.
No need for offence.
Although, monkeys might take offence at being compared to us!

I think George Bush Jr can look like a chimp in certain conditions.

@mrentropy
I can’t believe you’re being so blatantly racist! How dare you liken white people to apes!?

I have a variety of monkeys, including sock monkeys; I collect them. I didn’t realize this means I am in love with black men. OMG, my life is about to change because of this revelation.

Really? How on earth are sock monkeys supposed to be racist items? They are grey with white faces and red lips and red asses. Does this mean they are supposed to resemble “light-skinned” black people who have been eating ketchup and are constipated?

I’ve been saying this for a long time- everyone takes shit way too seriously these days. It’s a damned stuffed animal for crying out loud.

Humans are but one of the Great Apes. That aside I have absolutely no clue as to why you would think Sock Monkeys racist. I have made sock monkey’s all my life out of socks that could no longer be darned. I’ve made white monkey’s, black monkey’s, brown monkey’s, and grey monkey’s. I’ve refrained from making navy blue monkey’s cause well…you just don’t see blue monkey’s in nature…you know what I mean? I used to sell both sock monkey’s and gasp upon gasp….pickaninny dolls that had elaborately brained hair. Now pickanny dolls might potentially be considered racist save for that the word is derived from pegueno which means little and was an affectionate term used for black children. And no one seemed to take offense to my dolls. I sold out every year and had custom orders also. I made black angels and mommies with little babies. I sold them every year from October to Christmas.
But Sock Monkeys? Not even close to racist.

I don’t know the answer to either sock monkeys and lawn jockeys other than what I’ve read on the internet and what has been experienced in my youth.

Monkeys captured the hearts of people who had never seen them before. They are human-like. A few wealthy people bought them to raise them like a child. My older sister, while growing up, wanted to have chimpanzees instead of human children. Our local children’s clothing shop called “Monkey Business” kept one in a glass cage. Jane Goodall captured our hearts by her study of chimpanzees. They are cute, and some cases, cuddly.

Lawn jockeys are, in a way, another matter. Originally, they were black. They came from molds that chose to exaggerate facial features of African-Americans. Our next-door neighbor had a pair, as well as a Confederate flag that they proudly displayed, despite having a black housekeeper who became a better parent to their three boys than they were.

Be it a sock monkey or a lawn jockey, as well as many other objects, there have always been accusations of discrimination. In my opinion, some deserve it; others are based upon a few who are overly sensitive for personal reasons and/or feel it is not PC and are very vocal.

No it is fucking terrifying!

OMG! KILL IT WITH FIRE!

seriously, one of those things must have spit in my butt when i was a kid because they creep me the fuck out

When I was younger and our family moved into a new home there was a lawn jockey on the front lawn. The first thing my dad did was ordered it re-painted white. We named him “George” (and he’s not even a cactus) and he looked all right, except for the eyes. I don’t know what my sister did there but he looked kind of evil if you looked at his eyes.

Blondesjon

@mrentropy Your sister was wise. It was a form of home security.

I have never heard of a sock monkey as having a racist connotation any more than any other stuffed monkey toy (plush, plastic or the kind that bang cymbals). The reason they came into existence in the first place is because of a type of woolen socks that were worn back in the day. They were brown, like fur, and the heel part of the sock had a red and white part. The heel of the sock just sort of looks like the shape of the mouth of a chimpanzee or a bonobo. See the sock monkey’s face here My friend’s mom across the street actually made his and I always thought it was so cute. I had several different type of stuffed monkeys (one of which I think came from the Zoo) along with other animal stuffed toys. Some were kind of cartoon-like and others were more realistic looking. My folks bought me a sock monkey that looked almost identical to my friend’s home-made monkey last year for Xmas. It’s just cute. It looks like a little baby monkey.

Personally, I don’t like monkeys. The question reminded me of a comedian and ventriloquist that used a sock puppet that looked like a lamb. She was very popular when I was a kid in the ‘50 but I can’t remember her name. I thought that she and her puppets were cute and funny. There was never anything racist about her act. I just wish I could remember her name.

No, sock monkeys have no racial meaning for me.

@Ron_C Sherri Lewis and Lambchop?

Or Shari Lewis, I guess.

@mrentropy RIGHT, GREAT!!! Thank you. That was bothering me since I read the question. I was thinking that the puppet’s name was Lamkins. It turns out that Goggle had a lot of hits on that name but nothing that resembled a puppet.

I can now spend my Saturday in peace.

Don’t even ask me how or why I remember her name. ‘Cause I couldn’t tell ya.

@mrentropy well good job that you did. I would have been preoccupied with that all day.

To be honest, this is the first time I have seen it, and although I’m sure there is some history behind it, I would like to think that message has faded, I really don’t know.

Edit: Oh Ok I see, after further reading. There is still an uncomfortable feeling about past references by racists equating black to monkeys, essentially. That’s why people don’t like it.