.- Mr. Potato Head is no longer a man. Hasbro, the company that makes the plastic potato toy, announced it is giving it a new, gender-neutral name: Cara de Papa -Potato Head-.
This time it’s not a movie or TV character who has suddenly gone trans, it’s a children’s toy that’s been around for almost 70 years.
The Mr. Potato Head toy first arrived on the toy scene in 1952., when it didn’t even come with a plastic potato: kids had to provide their own vegetable to stuff their eyes, nose or mustache. Hasbro, which also makes Monopoly and My Little Pony, bought the brand and eventually added a plastic potato.
It’s just the latest move by corporate America in what they say is an effort to modernize their classic brands.
Barbie, for example, has shed her blonde image and now comes in multiple skin tones and body shapes. Thomas the Tank Engine added more female characters. And American Girl is now selling a doll.
two dads and two moms
As part of the rebranding, Hasbro will release a new Potato Head game that will allow kids to create their own kind of families, including two moms or two dads. The characters Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head will live on in some form, Hasbro said, but did not provide details.
Removing the masculine term “sir” could encourage other companies not to assign genders to their toys, a trend that has already been happening, said Ali Mierzejewski, editor-in-chief of toy review site The Toy Insider.
Barbie maker Mattel launched a line of gender-neutral dolls in 2019. But Potato Head is one of the biggest brands to do so, CBNews reported.
Posted by: – We appreciate your loyalty to our means of communication. We invite you to subscribe to the newsletter and activate the notifications section on the front page of our website.
Post Visitors:54