It wasn’t the biggest news item of the week, but when LeWair Foreman told me Thursday that the makers of Mr. Potato Head are rebranding the popular toy to be gender neutral, I knew it would make a great column.
On the one hand, the current obsession with gender is going into some truly odd places. It has a lot of people wondering what’s going on, and it recently inspired one of the most popular My Two Cents comments of all time.
On Feb. 19, someone wrote in, “I suggest that those individuals confused about their gender gain access to a full-length mirror, strip down naked as a jaybird and look into the mirror. What you see is what you is — male or female.”
On the other hand, the decision by Hasbro, the company that makes Mr. Potato Head, really isn’t that big of a deal. Real potatoes, after all, don’t have gender. Only in American culture could that be added, as it was to great effect when Don Rickles voiced Mr. Potato Head in the “Toy Story” movies.
Here’s what The Washington Post said about Hasbro:
“On Thursday, the company announced that it would be rebranding the iconic quick-change toy to break away from traditional ideas about gender roles and family structures — it celebrated the wedding and subsequent anniversaries of “Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head,” and it sold boxed sets of the couple and their offspring, Spud and Yam.
“Soon, Hasbro hopes the potato play can be a little more flexible and diverse, such as Mr. and Mr. Potato Head weddings or single spud-parent families. The move reflects a growing appetite for products that offer more flexibility around identity, from a surge in popularity in makeup for men to Mattel’s diversified Barbies and a boy “American Girl” doll.”
This may be the most surprising thing in the story: The Post said that according to a Gallup survey, one in six adults in “Generation Z,” which is people born between 1997 and 2012, identify as gay, bisexual or transgender.
Now, keep in mind that this is only coming from a poll. And if it’s reporting for Generation Z adults, that restricts the pool to those born from 1997 to 2003.
One in six sounds like an overstatement, but you never know. When Mr. Potato head takes off his hat to become gender neutral, you know something big is going on.
I have no doubt that some people will look at this as yet another example of the irrevocable decline of Western civilization. Hasbro apparently figured that out, too, as it announced on Twitter that Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head will still be available.
In a tweet that began with, “Hold that Tot!” — a witticism that can make a public relations career — Hasbro noted that while the brand name and logo is changing to just-plain “Potato Head,” the box will continue to identify the contents as a Mr. or Mrs.
A hint for anyone who’s not sure: Mr. Potato Head typically is the one with the big, bushy moustache. And Mrs. Potato Head is the one who overdoes the red lipstick.
A little more seriously, I will be curious to see how the gender identity debate compares to the tussle over gay rights that has commanded a lot of attention in the past decade — and even resulted in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage.
For the record, I believe that if somebody born with one gender wants to be treated as another, then they should be whenever possible. It’s admittedly strange to me, but it is just none of my business.
There are legitimate concerns, though.
A number of people correctly question which school bathroom a transgender student should use.
And a column by Salena Zito on this page Friday interviewed three female high school athletes who said that transgender boys competing as girls have an unfair biological advantage. Which they do.
I do have confidence that as a society, we’ll figure out how to handle this. There will be plenty of stumbles along the way, as there have been whenever we face great change.
But in the end, what you see is what you is. There is wisdom in that.
I can identify as Tom Cruise or Cary Grant, but I’m not. If current trends continue, I will look more like Chris Farley. At least I will have Mr. Potato Head to keep me company.
