Mr. Potato Head, the vegetable root toy that has captivated children since the 1950s, is undergoing a current transformation: From now on, Hasbro will reformulate the name and logo in favor of gender neutrality.
This fall, Potato Head will receive the Potato Head brand “to better reflect the complete line,” the company said in a press release on Thursday. “But rest assured, the iconic characters of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head are not going anywhere and will continue to be Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head.” Hasbro is also launching a “Create Your Family with a Potato Head” toy as “a celebration of the many faces of families”, including two large potatoes, a small fry and 42 accessories. In an accompanying video, Hasbro called it “a modern look for modern families”
Hold that Tot – your main spud, MR. HEAD POTATO is not going anywhere! Although it was announced today that the POTATO HEAD brand and logo are no longer ‘MR.’ I am proud to confirm that MR. & WL. POTATO HEAD is not going anywhere and will remain MR. & WL. POTATO HEAD pic.twitter.com/6I84KrxOLQ
– Hasbro (@Hasbro) February 25, 2021
After initial reactions, Hasbro clarified its plans for the Potato Head brand. The tweet included a photo of what appears to be a redesigned packaging.
Although Hasbro did not respond to Yahoo Life’s request for further comments, Kimberly Boyd, senior vice president and general manager of global brands, said Fast Company, “The culture has evolved. Children want to be able to represent their own experiences. The way the brand exists today – with ‘Mr.’ and ‘lady’ – is limiting when it comes to gender identity and family structure. “
She added: “The sweet spot for the toy is two to three years. Children like to decorate the toy and then interpret life scenarios. This usually takes the form of creating small potato families, because they are learning what it means to be in a family. “
According to PBS, Mr. Potato Head’s idea came from an inventor named George Lerner, who believed that children would love to poke real potatoes with their plastic accessories (hands, feet, eyes), although in 1949 he feared that such a game shut down families with food insecurity after World War II. Lerner then sold his idea to a company later renamed Hasbro, which made the plastic body. Mrs. Potato Head appeared in 1953 and the couple had “children”.
Today, the Mr. Potato Head line is sold like Star WarsLuke Skywalker from (Luke Fry-Walker), Iron Manis Tony Stark, Spider manit’s Peter Parker and even hasselback style.
The announcement made for Twitter news.
literally nobody cared about mr. potato head, all this title does is give conservatives the opportunity to make fun of LGBTQ people https://t.co/cRMG58Tb8u
– matt (@mattxiv) February 25, 2021
Funny how people are freaking out because of a toy that has always encouraged the removal and exchange of body parts.
– Mike Marlow (@MKEMarlow) February 25, 2021
“Hasbro’s decision to present Potato Head as a gender-neutral toy is the latest move in a greater movement towards greater diversity and inclusion in toys and media aimed at children,” said Rich Ferraro, communications director at GLAAD in a press release sent to Yahoo Life. “By offering a toy that exists outside of male and female torque, Hasbro is helping children to simply view toys as toys, which encourages them to be authentic out of pressure traditional gender norms. “
The toy reformulation follows inclusive movements from Mattel, whose American Girl line has been expanded to include dolls of different abilities and sexes and Barbie, whose animated vlog on Facebook addresses gender stereotypes.
“We are seeing through research that there is more acceptance today – especially among Generation Z – of the spectrum of gender identities,” Christia Brown, professor of developmental psychology at the University of Kentucky and author of Fatherhood beyond pink and blue: how to raise children without gender stereotypes, tells Yahoo Life. “We haven’t seen that in 7 or 8 years.”
In turn, she says, parents seek books and toys that represent their children, which signals demand from companies. Different toys are important because, between the ages of 3 and 6, children understand the world in terms of black and white. “Children so young are not cognitively advanced to understand gender variation, so they lead with salient features like gender-coded names or [pink and blue] clothes, “says Brown.” They also essentialize gender-based stereotypes – for example, if a girl doesn’t like to play Legos, all girls don’t like them “amid a cultural fixation on boy-girl (think about gender reveal parties or” Children in this age group, they pay attention to ‘rules’ and this is where we see an increase in stereotyped behavior “, she notes, adding that around 6 and 7 years old, children become more flexible in their perspectives.
That’s why Mr. Potato Head’s evolution is exciting. “It’s important when toy companies make changes like this because toys and games are educational,” says Brown. “Performance is a lesson in power in the hands of, say, a 4-year-old child. Toy companies have been biased for so long and can really change the childhood landscape.”
Read more on Yahoo Life:
Do you want to receive lifestyle and wellness news in your inbox? Sign here for the Yahoo Life newsletter.