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Mr. Potato Head is now Potato Head. Cue the outrage. (Original Post) demmiblue Feb 2021 OP
MISTER Potato Head underpants Feb 2021 #1
That's Mister Freedom Fries to you, thank you very much! lagomorph777 Feb 2021 #14
cue deplorables burning their kids toys on youtube in 3...2...1... jcgoldie Feb 2021 #2
... Ferrets are Cool Feb 2021 #18
Isn't there also a toy called Mrs. Potato Head? ARandomPerson Feb 2021 #3
Duhh jcgoldie Feb 2021 #6
I believe you're correct. I have the same recollection. NurseJackie Feb 2021 #7
She stars in this great commercial: lagomorph777 Feb 2021 #16
Yes there is PatSeg Feb 2021 #17
That one will be changed to Mr.Bill Feb 2021 #40
Article (very good read): demmiblue Feb 2021 #4
I used to put the Cootie parts on the Potato head when I was a youngster. Solly Mack Feb 2021 #5
LOL! NurseJackie Feb 2021 #11
Ha, ha, ha!!! PatSeg Feb 2021 #19
My mom started getting me science kits after a few of my creations. Solly Mack Feb 2021 #26
cooties: (for those young'uns here) IcyPeas Feb 2021 #32
Memories. Solly Mack Feb 2021 #34
Oh yes PatSeg Feb 2021 #35
My family had the cooties, but no potatoes! csziggy Feb 2021 #41
Got to love the image of Zuckerberg as part of "the Borg". RussellCattle Feb 2021 #8
Back in the day, the potato we used was REAL!!!! Maeve Feb 2021 #9
Same here and the potatoes were gender neutral as I recall! PatSeg Feb 2021 #21
I remember that! XanaDUer2 Feb 2021 #27
Not old, just properly aged, like fine cheese and wine Maeve Feb 2021 #28
Thanks XanaDUer2 Feb 2021 #39
I can't wait until they're all solemnly declaring, "I am Mr. Potato Head!" Silent3 Feb 2021 #10
Potato Butts are suing for body part discrimination. dchill Feb 2021 #12
And the other veggies? sarisataka Feb 2021 #20
They did try, but it turns out that kids don't like other vegetables. lagomorph777 Feb 2021 #30
I heard the Queen was considering Sir Potato Head. LakeArenal Feb 2021 #13
There's only one gender for potato heads matt819 Feb 2021 #15
But there are Mrs. Potato Heads PatSeg Feb 2021 #22
Nooooooo!!!! matt819 Feb 2021 #31
I think I mostly remember Mrs. Potato Head PatSeg Feb 2021 #36
Not sure anymore if this is satire. Cuthbert Allgood Feb 2021 #38
Why not Dr. Potato Head greenjar_01 Feb 2021 #23
OK, I did laugh at this: demmiblue Feb 2021 #24
Oh, that is hysterical! PatSeg Feb 2021 #37
I'm so old my Mr. Potato head used a real potato crimsonandclover Feb 2021 #25
Can this devolve into an argument about pronouns for the Tater? RainCaster Feb 2021 #29
I'm going with "potatx" nt JustABozoOnThisBus Feb 2021 #33
Nein! Es ist eine Kartoffelkopf-Familie! Herr Kartoffelkopf lebt! muriel_volestrangler Feb 2021 #42
Hasbro has already reversed back to Mr Potatoe head fescuerescue Feb 2021 #43
I don't want to be dude basher, but you know I kind of think there's room for a Mr. Potato Head, msfiddlestix Feb 2021 #44
Did they do away with Mrs Potato Head also???? Peacetrain Feb 2021 #45
Thankfully Tater Tots are already gender neutral. OilemFirchen Feb 2021 #46

underpants

(182,788 posts)
1. MISTER Potato Head
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 02:05 PM
Feb 2021

They will emphasize the Mr. thinking it’s clever and bring it up in conversation to the point where people would normally think “Why are they talk about children’s toys”

jcgoldie

(11,631 posts)
2. cue deplorables burning their kids toys on youtube in 3...2...1...
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 02:10 PM
Feb 2021

Nobody tell them that potatoes are self pollinating and have both male and female parts or they will have to cut the fries out of their fast food diets!

jcgoldie

(11,631 posts)
6. Duhh
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 02:13 PM
Feb 2021

She has to use the potato head restroom with potatoes that used to be boys ... not to mention what happens to her chances in the potato head olympics...

PatSeg

(47,419 posts)
17. Yes there is
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 02:24 PM
Feb 2021

This feels like a solution to a problem that doesn't really exist, but I suppose someone took issue with the classic toy.

demmiblue

(36,845 posts)
4. Article (very good read):
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 02:12 PM
Feb 2021
This fall, you’re cordially invited to Mr. Potato Head’s wedding. He’s marrying his partner of many years, another Mr. Potato Head. And I promise it’s going to be the party of the year, with—you guessed it—plenty of spuds on the menu.

The toy giant Hasbro is rebranding its iconic Mr. Potato Head toy by dropping the “Mr.” from the name. On the surface, it may seem like a subtle shift, but it is designed to break away from traditional gender norms, particularly when it comes to creating Potato Head families—how toddlers frequently play with the toy, according to Hasbro’s research. But starting this fall, when the new brand is unveiled, kids will have a blank slate to create same-sex families or single-parent families. It’s a prime example of the way heritage toy brands are evolving to stay relevant in the 21st century.

...

Over the decades, the Potato Head brand has explicitly played into this tendency to create families. It has sold Mr. Potato Head family sets, with a male and a female character, along with smaller potato children. In 2012, Hasbro celebrated the 60th wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head with a boxed set featuring the couple. But eight years later, the brand wants to stop leaning so heavily into this traditional family structure. “Culture has evolved,” she says. “Kids want to be able to represent their own experiences. The way the brand currently exists—with the “Mr.” and “Mrs.”—is limiting when it comes to both gender identity and family structure.”

The brand’s solution is to drop the gendered honorific title altogether. This means the toys don’t impose a fixed notion of gender identity or expression, freeing kids to do whatever feels most natural to them: A girl potato might want to wear pants and a boy potato might wear earrings. Hasbro will also sell boxed sets that don’t present a normative family structure. This approach is clever because it allows kids to project their own ideas about gender, sexuality, and family onto the toy, without necessarily offending parents that have more conservative notions about family.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90607931/the-iconic-mr-potato-head-gets-a-21st-century-rebrand


Solly Mack

(90,763 posts)
5. I used to put the Cootie parts on the Potato head when I was a youngster.
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 02:13 PM
Feb 2021

Always color outside the lines and tell those who complain to go fuck themselves.

PatSeg

(47,419 posts)
19. Ha, ha, ha!!!
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 02:26 PM
Feb 2021

Oh I love it! When Mr. Potato Head first came out, we used real potatoes, so I suppose you could get very creative. I can just imagine the monsters you could create with Cootie parts.

csziggy

(34,136 posts)
41. My family had the cooties, but no potatoes!
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 08:50 PM
Feb 2021

And we made some great aliens out of the cootie parts.

Maeve

(42,282 posts)
9. Back in the day, the potato we used was REAL!!!!
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 02:15 PM
Feb 2021

Geez...the world turns and the only thing constant is change

sarisataka

(18,632 posts)
20. And the other veggies?
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 02:26 PM
Feb 2021

Why are potatoes given special treatment. Don't they think there is some child out there that wants to play with Leek Head?

matt819

(10,749 posts)
15. There's only one gender for potato heads
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 02:23 PM
Feb 2021

Mr.

It’s a travesty to even consider that there may be a Ms or Mrs or they/them potato head. What’s next? A trans Ken aka Kendall or a trans Barbie aka Bobby, with a changeable body parts?

Come to think of it, that could be a great Kickstarter niche.

PatSeg

(47,419 posts)
22. But there are Mrs. Potato Heads
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 02:30 PM
Feb 2021

and I believe they've been around for a long time.

Meanwhile, kids have an imagination. They can make their toys anything they choose.

matt819

(10,749 posts)
31. Nooooooo!!!!
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 03:46 PM
Feb 2021

Many many many years removed from mr potato head days. So I’m excused from not knowing or remembering this.

I think blocks and etch a sketch and maybe play doh are the only non gender toys left.

PatSeg

(47,419 posts)
36. I think I mostly remember Mrs. Potato Head
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 04:28 PM
Feb 2021

from my own kids, but apparently Mrs. came out in 1953, a year after the original. Then came Brother Spud and Sister Yam (I really don't remember those two).

Like I said, kids can make toys into anything they like. My sister and I used to play cowboys and we'd take turns being Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. I have six year old grandsons and most of the books and toys they have show both boys and girls doing the same jobs. When they act out a book or a movie, they choose the female role as often as the male one. It doesn't faze them at all.

RainCaster

(10,869 posts)
29. Can this devolve into an argument about pronouns for the Tater?
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 03:27 PM
Feb 2021

him/his
them/they
Conzervative/Azzhole

msfiddlestix

(7,281 posts)
44. I don't want to be dude basher, but you know I kind of think there's room for a Mr. Potato Head,
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 08:56 PM
Feb 2021

After all, I believe i witnessed a bunch of them busting through the halls of Congress on January 6th. There were a few Mrs. Potato Heads and Ms Potato Heads, but mostly were dudes.


Maybe I'm just old and gray, but I kind of feel like this getting really stupid. I'm mean REALLY stupid.



Peacetrain

(22,875 posts)
45. Did they do away with Mrs Potato Head also????
Thu Feb 25, 2021, 09:03 PM
Feb 2021

I am so confused here..

edit to add.. all my potato heads with real potatoes when I was a kid.. gives away my age.. just plain old potatoes.

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