diff --git a/gtk/gtkrc.c b/gtk/gtkrc.c
index a929e99351..749e2c3fa6 100644
--- a/gtk/gtkrc.c
+++ b/gtk/gtkrc.c
@@ -413,7 +413,7 @@ gtk_rc_reparse_all (void)
     {
       rc_file = tmp_list->data;
       
-      if (!stat (rc_file->name, &statbuf) && 
+      if (!lstat (rc_file->name, &statbuf) && 
 	  (statbuf.st_mtime > rc_file->mtime))
 	{
 	  mtime_modified = TRUE;