Woolworths in London has pulled its Lolita bed from its online store after complaints from parents. A Woolworths spokesman said, “What seems to have happened is the staff who run the website had never heard of Lolita, and to be honest no one else here had either. We had to look it up on Wikipedia. But we certainly know who she is now.”
The spokesman continued, “We will be talking to the supplier with regard to how the branding came about.
“Shop pulls “Lolita” bed for young girls” [Reuters]
(Photo elements: Getty)
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Now do I admit I knew who Lolita was or don’t I? Hmmmm.
I find that hard to believe that these people never heard of Lolita…
I love that free with purchase pic!
Reminds me of the story of the brown couch with the racist color scheme from a few months back…
Is it possible that the term “lolita” has less of a meaning in popular culture in england than in the US? I remember the buttafuco (sp?) incident brought the term “lolita” up again in american culture years ago.
Or maybe they just have a bunch of chavs & chavettes working at the woolworths in london.
@leftistcoast: If I recall correctly that was a matter of a English translation of a word being applied to a non English word. .
mmmm….wonder if I should return my Fagin Bunkbeds….
@forgottenpassword: I doubt that. The cinematic history of Lolita has been a big deal in England, particularly as it comes to making Americans look like Puritans – Kubrick shot his film in England (independently produced) because of difficulties with the US regarding the subject matter, and when the Adrian Lyne version was widely released in theatres in England, I remember the fact that it was not released to theatres in the US was used as a selling point (in the US, it turned up on Showtime and on video).
I suspect there was a combination of people who hadn’t heard of it, people who had heard “Lolita,” and only knew that it had to do with a “little girl” image, but not pædophilia, and at least a small number of people who knew, and found it hilarious that no one had complained yet.
I’m guessing they’re all a buncha Chavs or those crazy youngsters who have no regard to the past…
@angryrider: If they were born in the late ’70′s then they probably didn’t know about it. Plus I am guessing that the name branding is from the Chinese bed manufacturer-even though distributed/sold by the Scandanavian House LTD. to Woolworths.
Hey well at least there isn’t space for an adult in the bed.
It’s a cute bed. Why can’t they just rename the damn thing?
@CatMoran: I think that’s the supplier’s job, that’s why…
“Lolita” stuff is huge in Japan–perhaps some over-eager Japanophile named the bed. There’s also the fashion Gothic Lolita.
boo pedophilia
Illiteracy for the win, apparently.
@Marce: I’m not much into fashion, but there are some pretty cool outfits in the gothic lolita genre.
I agree that it seems strange that no one knew anything about what Lolita was associated with. I don’t know that I agree with just stopping sales of the bed. It’s not as though it comes with a pedophile or something. I mean, I would buy a pair of jeans branded “Fat Bitch” as long as they were comfortable and didn’t have the brand scrolling across the butt or something.
@ElizabethD: Seriously. I don’t know what’s more distubing: the fact that there’s a kiddie bed named “Lolita” or the fact that it took this long for someone to catch the wrongitude.
LOL-ita because this made me laugh out loud.
This is almost as bad as those women’s sneakers about 10 years ago that they named “Incubus,” because nothing says women’s sport performance like RAPE DEMONS. Though I guess the thought could inspire you to run.
LOL-ita because it made me laugh out loud (just a small amount).
@picardia: Reminds me of a Nike commercial, where the woman is getting changed by a “Jason” like character. She keeps running in her Nike’s, and the “Jason” finally stops and gasps for air…
@Marce: Just looked that up. Wow. Who ever thought that Wednesday Addams would be a fashion icon.
A few years ago, IKEA named one of their children’s bunk bed models “Gutvik.” Gutvik is apparently a Swedish town, but the German pronunciation of the word sounds translates as “good f—.” I believe the retailer changed the name of that kiddie bed toute suite.
I wonder if you get your own Chris Hansen with purchase?
Does it come with handcuffs?
@KleineFrau: Yeah, every bed comes with a six-pack of Smirnoff Ice and a seat in the kitchen.
@CumaeanSibyl: Hee hee!
If those people were young, then probably they had never heard of Lolita. But the people who would be doing the naming would most likely be old enough to know the origin of the name Lolita. I don’t think that they meant any harm though. I think they just thought that Lolita was a cute name and they couldn’t remember exactly where they had first heard that name.
Am I the only one who’s going to bring up the movie Broken Flowers?
Has the company who named the bed been approved by, and paying residuals to the estate of Nabokov? Maybe if they pronounce it wrong like Sting, they can get around that?