Spud is no longer a mister
Mr. Potato Head goes gender neutral
NEW YORK — Mr. Potato Head is no longer a mister.
Hasbro, the company that’s made the potato-shaped plastic toy for nearly 70 years, is giving the spud a gender neutral new name: Potato Head. The change will appear on boxes this year.
Many toymakers have been updating their classic brands in recent years, hoping to relate to today’s kids and reflect more modern families.
“It’s a potato,” said Ali Mierzejewski, editor in chief at toy review site The Toy Insider. “But kids like to see themselves in the toys they are playing with.”
Barbie, for example, has shed its blonde image and now comes in multiple skin tones and body shapes. The Thomas the Tank Engine toy line added more girl characters. And American Girl now is selling a boy doll.
As part of the rebranding, Hasbro will release a new Potato Head playset this fall that will let kids create their own type of families, including two moms or two dads.
The Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head characters will live on in some form, Hasbro said, but didn’t provide details. Both have appeared in the “Toy Story” movies.
Dropping the “Mr.” from its name could encourage other companies to stop assigning genders to its toys, a trend that has already been happening, said Mierzejewski. Barbie maker Mattel released a gender-neutral doll line in 2019. But Mr. Potato Head is one of the biggest brands to do so.
“It’s setting this new standard,” Mierzejewski said.
GLAAD, an LGBTQ advocacy group, applauded the genderless toy potato.
“Hasbro is helping kids to simply see toys as toys, which encourages them to be their authentic selves outside of the pressures of traditional gender norms,” said Rich Ferraro, GLAAD’S chief communications officer, in a statement.
Mr. Potato Head first hit the toy scene in 1952, when it didn’t even come with a plastic potato — kids had to supply their own vegetable to poke eyes, a nose or mustache into. Hasbro, which also makes Monopoly and My Little Pony, bought the brand and eventually added a plastic spud.
House lawmakers kicked off an effort to tackle dominant technology companies, vowing a revamp of competition laws to curb their power.
The House antitrust panel, led by Rep. David Cicilline, heard from antitrust experts Thursday about potential proposals aimed at fostering competition in digital markets, ranging from company breakups to new regulations to prevent tech giants from flexing their muscles.
“Republicans and Democrats agree that these companies have too much power, and that Congress must curb this dominance,” Cicilline said. “Mark my words, change is coming, laws are coming. Every day, policymakers around the world are undertaking a similar process.”
The hearing follows the findings of the panel’s 16month investigation of tech companies released last year. The report determined that Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. have all abused their gatekeeper power over the digital economy.
The committee’s report recommended a series of far-reaching antitrust reforms, including a measure that would prohibit a dominant tech platform from operating in competition with the firms dependent on it — much the way banking laws once barred large lenders from acquiring insurers, real estate firms and other non-banking companies. The committee also recommended restrictions on acquisitions by dominant firms.
Criticism of the tech companies was bipartisan at the hearing, suggesting a path for agreement on legislation. Rep. Ken Buck, Rcolo., the ranking member of the antitrust panel, said tech companies “are able to act with complete impunity because of their status as monopolies.” He said he backed merger restrictions, saying tech companies have been able to solidify their dominance by acquiring other companies.
“The status quo is not working and we must act, but the key is to make sure we do not take a chainsaw