It doesn’t get much more nonbinary than this. Cast your mind back to the olden days for a moment . . . picture mom and dad excitedly wrapping presents on Christmas Eve only to realize in a panic . . . we’re out of potatoes! (Trust me, there was nothing more useless than a Mr. Potato Head without a potato. It was basically a box of choking hazards.) Now comes Hasbro, trying to widen the gender spud spectrum, and the usual content-starved suspects have jumped at the bait.
This seems like much ado about nothing, but Hasbro is an up-and-coming local company and we like to help them get their name out there. According to the New York Times:
Hasbro is giving its venerable Mr. Potato Head toy a more gender-inclusive identity by dropping the “Mr.” from its brand name and packaging.
“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 in an initial statement on Thursday.
The response has been predictable — and probably the point. Not to worry, Hasbro will be releasing a variety of products in time for the holidays.
In the fall, the company will introduce its new “Potato Family Pack” that will encourage children to “create your Potato Head family.” The pack will come with two large potato bodies, one small potato body and 42 accessories.
Specifically? The Deadly Nightshade Family Pack.