These days you can't tread too lightly when it comes to cakey depictions of holiday icons. After all, many of these age-old characters perpetuate negative stereotypes of entire people groups, and therefore risk offending said group and others.
Take, for example, leprechauns.
When I say the word "leprechaun", what comes to mind? No, wait, don't tell me. Let me guess: a short, red-haired, pasty-white man with an out-dated fashion sense, penchant for pranks, and a mentally unstable obsession with the acquisition of wealth (particularly in the form of gold).
I'm right, aren't I? Yeah, that's what I thought. [shaking head] You should be ashamed of yourself, you...you... perpetuator of negative stereotypes, you!
Fortunately, bakeries are fighting back:
See? Much better.
Not only is this multi-cultural leprechaun a conglomeration of all earthly ethnicities, he's also part alien, as evidenced by those ear-knob antennae. You can never be too non-offensive, after all, and we wouldn't want any extraterrestrials feeling discriminated against.
They've got layers, I tell you, layers. Like an onion. Or, I dunno...a...cake. Yeah. So maybe it's time we considered their feelings for once, hmm?
Michelle P. & Callie H., I'm totally itching for some Lucky Charms right now. Don't tell anybody.
It's also important we fight against the "happy leprechaun" cliche. People need to realize that leprechauns have feelings, too, and sometimes those feelings aren't all shamrocks and rainbows, mmkay?
Michelle P. & Callie H., I'm totally itching for some Lucky Charms right now. Don't tell anybody.
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Are those flames falling from his face (or possibly climbing up it...)?
Aye, he be stealing me pot o'...self tanning cream? Sigh. Diversity strikes even the little fellas.
Those leprechauns are just plain wrong. The first one needs a good barber.
And the second one has been eating too much catsup and forgotten to wipe his mouth. (Oh, no! Maybe it's a vampire leprechaun and it's blood. Don't want to leave out too many minorities here.)
I had no idea that leprechauns were considered offensive...I guess the horror films about the murderous little Oirish person did nothing to help this.
Actually, I think the Irish people I know are more offended by the tendency of Americans to consider themselves "Irish" when they're actually 1/256th Emerald-Islander.
That first one's not a leprechaun... it's clearly an Oompa Loompa.
The first one looks more like a teddy bear with a policeman's cap and flames on the chin.
And thankfully I really AM 50% Irish, I'm not TOO diluted.
I was thinking that the first one was an animal of some kind, but your description works, too.
A post related to my St. Patrick's Day! I love it! (that's also my birthday). Those poor.....leprechauns?
The first little guy looks like he's wearing a police hat. Be he Officer O'Malley or Sheriff Seamus??
Those are the weirdest Leprechauns I've ever seen..
~Amy B
I don't know, the first one is kind of cute. Not necessarily appetizing, but cute.
Wow. They just can't leave ANYTHING alone!
WV- mensmist. I'd write a sentence, but I don't think I need to.
Oh, you both have layers. Oh. You know, not everybody like onions. Cake! Everybody loves cakes! Cakes have layers. You know what else everybody likes? Parfaits. Have you ever met a person, you say, "Let's get some parfait," they say, "Hell no, I don't like no parfait"? Parfaits are delicious. Parfaits may probably be the most delicious thing on the whole damn planet!
That first one is just so wrong I don't even know where to start!
On the second one, I can't get past the obscene blobs they used for a border...they remind me of multicolored intestines or something. The "filler" on the hat actually looks like shallots/green onions. And those eyebrows.... !!!
OMG, the cookie totally reminds me of Conan O'Brien! I miss Late Night already. Maybe if the producers pick up on it, it will be featured on the Tonight Show when he takes over in a few months.
More like "Magically Demented"...
Looks like somebody needs a hot towel and a splash of Barbasol...
The CCC strikes again!
-Benjamin
ick.
it's pretty neat how the decorator covered ALL her bases on that first leprechaun. wowzer.
i'm frightened of cake #2...
Oh my. That second one looks miffed. I guess I'd be too if I knew I was gonna be eaten...
Flaming face....or a beard?
Daily Gif blog
DB
How about that magical uni-brow?
shag carpet beard!!
Makes me want to watch Darby O'Gil and the Little People now.
Oh wait... they're not little people.
Oh wait...are they? Are they just short? No...I'M short.
Were Darby O'Gil's friends true leprechauns?
Great...now I've got to go Google it.
While eating some Lucky Charms. Magically Delicious, you know.
I'm so confused. Its hard to be politically correct ALL the time....
The first one is clearly one of the Black Irish.
Maliciously Delicious? :)
What, no rant about how terrible CCC's are? :P
Katharina
"ear-knob" is now officially my favorite word.
I agree, the second one looks more like a veggie tray with that lumpy border & the shallots for a hat! :P
The first one looks more like a Smurf than a leprechan.
WV: hagge - not much more I need to add to that. LOL.
I had no idea chef hats came in a St. Patty's day theme... Maybe that first flamey-faced one will whip us up some erin-go-bragh potato alien plantain cupcakes.
If I were presented with such a horrible excuse for a leprechaun cake, I would tell the giver to kiss my ...
Blarney Stone!
I gotta say, I can appreciate wrecked cakes in the shape of Leprechauns, maybe more then most :P
I think I'll pop on over to my neighborhood bakery and see what creations they have. Maybe I'll get lucky. ; }
I think I need lunch too, I am not so concerned by the way they look today...I just want to eat them...yup, definitely hungry.
I think my wordver says it all: bulucch!
heh heh.
-Deb
Sadly, the worst thing about the first one was NOT that it was made of cupcakes.
I thought only ogres have layers! ;)
Valerie
"They've got layers, I tell you, layers. Like an onion."
Was that Shrek reference intentional or not? XDD
the first is not only ethically diverse, but also symbolizes interfaith dialogue. Why else would you see earlocks on a Catholic icon? I wonder if it's kosher...
That first one appears to be hiding behind a piece of the orange shag rug from my first house. Perhaps he's just embarrassed that he overslept on the tanning bed this morning.
Now, where have I seen ears such as those on that first thing before??? Oh, yes! NOW I remember--they were on old Clementine, the cow. (She was a good old girl, that one...)
So I see that as long as Leprechauns are purely legendary /mythical, or what-have-you, pretty much anything goes as far as exact descriptions and such...but, Holy sheep sheet(!!!)--that second "cake" is 100% pure pitiful. There is no imagineable excuse for its existence whatsoever. Plug-ugly! I cannot even imagine anyone paying actual money for that hideousity!!
>^!!^<
..AND he's wearing Goofy's hat! ^_^ I wish it had the long, black ears hanging down the side.
The first one is obviously Turk from SCRUBS in the episode where he was an "Irish Brotha'"! hehehe
They need to work from quality source art for accuracy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nda_OSWeyn8
Both are hideous, but they probably taste good...
thought you'd like this. i'm not sure what it is? but i think it's a diaper cake. i mean, i hope, for your sake, and the worlds. oh, and it's for st. patties day, and i'm irish and my captcha right now says gumbo and i live in louisiana. isn't that cool?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ST-PATRICKS-DAY-DIAPER-CAKE-WITH-SIZE-2-DIAPERS_W0QQitemZ380109356374QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item380109356374&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A4|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A200
the first one has a goofy hat:D
Colm Meaney...........
well you asked what I think of when I think Leprauchan
I love the mean leprechaun. :)
tina
The second one is a lecher-chaun. Ba-dum-bump. Thank you folks, I'm here all week.
What about that last one makes me think of a vegetable platter? It's all carrots and celery and broccoli to me. Very appetizing on top of a cookie, no?
HAHAHAHA !!!! I thought the first one too was an animal
The non-titular one of the two protagonists of the Artemis Fowl books by Irish children's author Eoin Colfer is a dark-skinned leprechaun, but her hair is auburn, not carroty (leprechaun is only a profession in those books, her species is elf). Not that that excuses the first one's beard or ears, or the second at all.
My husband thinks the second one looks genocidal...not just homicidal, but genocidal...
-Jax
That one on the bottom looks like Mr. Mxyzptlk with a beard (sort of) and a green hat.
http://ezeeg.notlong.com
--
Bruce T.