What's in an honorific?
Mr. Potato Head – the brand, not the character – is being re-branded as, simply, "Potato Head."
As reported on CNN and beyond,
"Hasbro is making sure all feel welcome in the Potato Head world by officially dropping the Mr. from the Mr. Potato Head brand name and logo to promote gender equality and inclusion," the company said. The rebranded toy launches this fall.
It's interesting that the reporting at first kind of freaked people out, with the fear being that the characters of Mr. Potato Head and Mrs. Potato Head had changed their genders. So much so that
Hasbro tweeted:
Hold that Tot – your main spud, MR. POTATO HEAD isn’t going anywhere! While it was announced today that the POTATO HEAD brand name & logo are dropping the ‘MR.’ I yam proud to confirm that MR. & MRS. POTATO HEAD aren’t going anywhere and will remain MR. & MRS. POTATO HEAD
The photo included in the tweet says volumes about how binary the Potato Head universe still is, with the art still showing Mr. Potato Head and Mrs. Potato Head, each on their respective box, under the new more gender neutral brand name, "Potato Head."
I guess rebranding the overall thing to be gender neutral is a step in the right direction.
But if Hasbro really wants to be gender inclusive, perhaps the next step is for them to come up with a character who is part of the Potato Head Universe, who is also gender non-conforming, or Two-Spirit, or gender fluid. And maybe give that Gender Queer character their own box.
Casting call for Mx. Potato Head, anyone?
The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you, no matter your gender.
Stay safe,
Lee
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