Melbourne mum cops backlash after posting outrage about toy lion’s penis
By James Hall - News.com.au
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The Melbourne mother who shared her shock at a child’s toy lion having a penis depicted under his tail says the online abuse has been “disgusting” and “stupid”.
Tanya Husnu’s outrage at the “willy” on the toy was shared by media organisations around the world this week and she says comments to the online stories and personal emails have featured foul language and abuse directed at her four-year-old son.
The mother-of-five bought her children a toy each from a Melbourne Kmart in preparation for a trip to the zoo and the family were shocked to find the lion’s graphic depiction.
Adding to the confusion, the toy elephant and hippopotamus she bought for her other children didn’t have any such appendages.
“One of the twins turned the lion around, and my daughter yelled out, ‘Look mum, the lion’s got a willy’, and they all started laughing,” said Mrs Husnu, a 33-year-old blogger.
She said the store should stop selling the toy which is aimed at children older than three and that parents should decide when to teach their children about genitalia.
“I’ve been getting a lot of personal messages saying, ‘Are you a stupid c**t?’,” Mrs Husnu told news.com.au.
Numerous comments say it’s ridiculous for a mother to shelter her children from the natural appendage but she said her outrage was for young girls yet to learn what a penis is.
“Some people don’t want to talk to their children about that, she’s young, she shouldn’t be worrying about men’s or boy’s parts,” the mum said.
“She needs to be a child and not have to worry about those kinds of things.”
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Other comments have said the children would likely see a penis on the real animals at the zoo.
One Facebook user asked, “What’s she going to do when she takes the kids to the zoo? Ask Mr Giraffe to put some pants on?”
Another, Charlotte Fey: “I hope all the animals at the zoo were appropriately covered to protect delicate eyes and minds from reality!”
But Mrs Husnu said, “They can’t touch the animals at the zoo.
“It’s different if they’ve got it in their face all the time and they’re playing with it.”
Other Facebook comments were more humorous than offensive.
Sarah Treen: “Oh no! Not an anatomically correct lion! How will our delicate sensibilities recover?”
Mark Trapezi: “I just looked down in my pants and I have one too … I’m absolutely outraged!”
Lisa Glanfield: “OMFG!! Barbie has boobs for Christ sake!! Why can’t a lion have a willy???”
