Mr and Mrs Potato Head go gender neutral – to just ‘Potato Head’ after makers Hasbro says 70-year toy needed to break from gender norms
Mr. Potato Head has gone gender neutral as toy maker Hasbro announced it is changing the name of the 70-year-old toy because it needs to break from gender norms.
Hasbro, the company that makes the potato-shaped plastic toy, revealed Thursday it is giving the iconic spud the gender-neutral new name of Potato Head.
The Mrs. pronoun will also be dropped from the toy’s spouse Mrs. Potato Head.
Hasbro Senior Vice President Kimberly Boyd said the toy’s current gender identities were ‘limiting’ to children and were in need of a modern makeover.
The rebranded toy will hit shelves sometime later this year.
Hasbro, the company that makes the potato-shaped plastic toy, is giving the spud a gender neutral new name: Potato Head. The change will appear on boxes this year.
‘Culture has evolved. Kids want to be able to represent their own experiences,’ Boyd told Fast Company.
‘The way the brand currently exists – with the ‘Mr.’ and ‘Mrs.’ – is limiting when it comes to both gender identity and family structure.’
Both Mr. Potato Head and Mrs. Potato Head were still listed on Hasbro’s website under their gendered names as of Thursday afternoon.
The rebrand has sparked debate on social media with some people calling the move ‘woke’ and ‘absurd.’
‘What planet is #hasbro on? No Mr. potato Head? Absurd I say,’ one person tweeted.
‘Mr. Potato Head will always be… a potato. Hasbro can’t take away the genitals of a spud that never had any to begin with. #thiscountryisNUTS,’ another person tweeted.
‘Take your gender correct pronouns and stick them in Mr. Potato Heads rear. #mrpotatohead #wokepolice.’
Another fumed: ‘Woke-o Haram strikes again. How soon will Toy Story have to be re-edited to get rid of Mrs Potato Head?’
Many people questioned what this means for the future of Mrs. Potato Head as well.
A Disney Store Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head playset. The toy regained popularity when Mr. Potato Head became a central character in the Disney Pixar film Toy Story
‘What I want to know is are they retiring Mrs. Potato Head?’ one person tweeted.
‘Does Mrs. Potato Head know?’ another person asked.
One social media user shared a clip of Toy Story when Mr. Potato Head corrects the character Woody when he fails to address him as mister.
‘Throw back Thursday to when Mr. Potato Head admonished Woody when he wouldn’t respect his pronouns. ‘That’s Mister Potato Head to you, you backstabbing murderer (Hasbro)!’ they tweeted.
One person pointed out that Hasbro’s name could also do with a rebrand to make it more gender neutral.
‘Mr. Potato Head is now gender neutral! They will go by Potato Head! I want to know if HasBRO can go gender neutral too?’ they tweeted.
Another also suggested a revamp for the toymaker: ‘Hasbro will now also be going by ‘Has-sibling’.’
Meanwhile others welcomed the move to become more gender neutral.
‘If your masculinity is so fragile that you are offended by Hasbro renaming Potato Head, that’s sad dude,’ one person tweeted.
Mr. Potato Head first hit the shelves back in 1952 as a kit of plastic body parts and accessories such as a mustache and pipe for children to stick onto a real potato to create a character.
A child playing with a Mr Potato Head in 1953. Mr. Potato Head first hit the shelves in 1952 as a kit of plastic body parts and accessories for children to stick onto a real potato
The next year, Mrs. Potato Head was born with a feminine accessory kit including high heels and hair bows.
Both kits were an overnight success with more than one million kits sold in the first year alone.
The toy regained popularity when Mr. Potato Head became a central character in the Disney Pixar film Toy Story.
Toy makers have been updating their classic brands to appeal to kids today.
Barbie has shed its blonde image and now comes in multiple skin tones and body shapes.
Thomas the Tank Engine added more girl characters. And American Girl is now selling a boy doll.