Send in the clowns

I have written in this blog that clowns and mascots terrify me. There is something sinister about that painted smile, those garrish clothes and above all, that false cheer that they evoke and represent. My friends think that this ‘irrational’ fear or dislike could have resulted from a repressed childhood memory or from watching too much horror and suspense-thriller movies with bad clowns. While it is true that, being a horror-genre buff, I have indeed seen and read a fair share of films and books with clown baddies, I don’t think it’s the main or real reason for this feeling and attitude towards clowns and mascots.

A few years ago I discovered that some of my cousins share this quirk of mine. It was one of those children’s parties held at fast-food joints to minimize the logistical hassles of holding the party at home. The parents of the celebrant were close friends of my family. In fact, I am one of the god-fathers of the child. So while the adults (including me) were casually wolfing down burgers and pieces of fried chicken, the children (my younger cousins included) were busy running around the play center strategically placed in the middle of the room. When Ronald McDonald barged into the play center and gleefully greeted the kids, two cousins of mine ran to their respective mothers as if the devil himself was chasing them.

Could it be that it runs in our family? As it turns out, it does not. I came across this bit of news in the internet a few days ago:

Don’t send in the clowns

Wed Jan 16, 8:32 AM ET

Bad news for Coco and Blinko — children don’t like clowns and even older kids are scared of them.

The news that will no doubt have clowns shedding tears was revealed in a poll of youngsters by researchers from the University of Sheffield who were examining how to improve the decor of hospital children’s wards.

The study, reported in the Nursing Standard magazine, found all the 250 patients aged between four and 16 they quizzed disliked the use of clowns, with even the older ones finding them scary.

"As adults we make assumptions about what works for children," said Penny Curtis, a senior lecturer in research at the university.

"We found that clowns are universally disliked by children. Some found them quite frightening and unknowable."

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Steve Addison)

See? But this did not sit particularly well with clowns. And they reacted. With this:

Clowns say kids do NOT find them scary 

 
Fri Jan 18, 9:37 AM ET

Unhappy clowns from around the world say a study that reported that children didn’t like them has wiped the big smile from their faces, and have been falling over their large shoes to put their case.

A poll by researchers looking at what decor to put in hospital children’s wards found that youngsters do not like clowns on the walls and even older ones think they are scary.

"We found that clowns are universally disliked by children. Some found them quite frightening and unknowable," said Penny Curtis, senior researcher at the University of Sheffield which questioned 250 children aged between four and 16.

But their findings, published in a nursing magazine on Wednesday, has put the red noses of the clowning community out of joint.

In a deluge of emails to Reuters, they say they misrepresent just how popular they really are.

"The ‘universe’ of 250 children used for the Sheffield University study was miniscule compared to the 250,000 one-to-one bedside visits made by Clown Care to hospitalized children annually," said Joel Dein, director of communications at the Big Apple Circus in New York.

The Clown Care programme has involved two million hospital bedside visits since it began 21 years ago, employs more than 93 professional "Clown Doctors" and has been copied across the world in countries such as Italy and Brazil, Dein said.

Other individual clowns pointed out how much children, especially those who are ill, are cheered by them.

"I have clowned in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, day care, corporate events ,telethons and am a part of many charity events," said Elaine "Daisy D.Dots" Vercellone, who has been clowning for 21 years around New York.

"It gives people, kids and adults a reason to be silly, to imagine and gives their minds a vacation if only for a moment."

Heather Myers, aka PipSqueakTheClown, said while many of those in hospitals and nursing homes appreciate their fun antics, there are of course those who are scared.

"There are those who are afraid of clowns, this is unavoidable, the same way that there are those afraid of dogs and spiders," she said.

"It is the responsibility of the clown to know his environment, and take the necessary steps when confronted with a phobia."

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Steve Addison)

So there. But whatever the argument, I don’t think my feelings about clowns and mascots are going to change soon. If I can’t adequately explain this, I’ll leave it as that. For now.