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Madness I tell theee, worlds gone mad
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-56200811
A gender-neutral makeover will see Mr Potato Head become the toy formerly known as Mr Potato Head.
The classic toy's branding is being "reimagined for the modern consumer", its US maker Hasbro announced on Thursday.
From later this year, the toy - launched almost 70 years ago - will be named Potato Head on packaging.
Other toy companies have taken similar decisions in recent years, breaking with traditional gender norms.
"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,"
https://twitter.com/Hasbro/status/1365038178814590995
A Beeb article quoting Ben Shapiro?
Perhaps they are trying to woo the DM click bait followers just to stave off the Tories...
Amazed it's taken this long... but yes, madness !
They're getting lots of free publicity, which was probably the real reason for this...
I don't quite get what about this is 'madness'? Just seems like a good way to be inclusive, buy your kid the toy and they can give it the gender that they want. What's so bad about that?
I think it is just done to provoke the Irish.
How many potatoes does it take to kill an Irishman?
None.
Roger Hargreaves books are going to get complicated!
But how is this news? A company deciding on a rebrand is hardly new, is the newsworthiness because its about gender? **** me thats a weak excuse for news.
Usual rules apply. Does it affect me in anyway?
No.
Might it positively help someone else? Maybe.
...computing...
Status: good thing
I don’t quite get what about this is ‘madness’? Just seems like a good way to be inclusive, buy your kid the toy and they can give it the gender that they want. What’s so bad about that?
They could do that anyway. It doesn't NEED to be inclusive, you could have a Mrs Potato head too. People have to remmeber, men and women exist.... both ....
Anything that offends Ben Shapiro automatically makes it the right thing to do
This is the national trust Easter debacle again isn’t it?
The packaging still says Mr or Mrs it just the headline brand that is Potato Head, seems perfectly reasonable.
Am I misinterpreting this.
Mr and Mrs both being retained but the overall brand name for the line of products dropping the Mr?
Waiting to see what they do for the Mr Men rebrand.
Usual rules apply. Does it affect me in anyway?
No.
Might it positively help someone else? Maybe.…computing…
Status: good thing
If only everyone was taught to think so rationally
Does seem that despite the generally decent standard of BBC reporting, they are keen on attracting the Daily Mail demographic. Presumably to support new funding streams when the government gets rid of the license fee.
We'll miss it when it's gone, be careful what you wish for.
Did some of you actually read the article? It's even in capital letters on the tweet to make it easy but maybe you missed in in your rush to complain?
Mr and Mrs Potato Head are absolutely retaining their names. It's just the overall brand that is going to be "Potato Head"
Re: Roger Hargreaves, likewise no need to worry there either. If you wanted to be totally PC you might want them to be umbrella branded as the Mr and Mrs Men, but Mr Knee-Jerk and Little Miss Jump-to-Conclusions can happily keep their titles. Or indeed, change them if they want, it is 2021 after all.
Christ. they're not even dropping the Mr and Mrs SpudHead characters, they're just rebranding the overall name...and that's considered newsworthy.
Not even just quoting Shapiro, but actually driving traffic to this twitter feed ffs.
BBC news don't even attempt to hide their bias anymore.
Now that the biggest UK news channel is firmly on the right, there's no hope of any impartiality in the media.
They could do that anyway. It doesn’t NEED to be inclusive, you could have a Mrs Potato head too. People have to remmeber, men and women exist…. both ….
I mean I'm not sure what to make of this comment, doesn't really make sense does it?
They still have both a Mr and Mrs Potato Head, it's just that they removed the 'Mr' from the overall brand name.
Haha I really do applaud the company for this. Is there anything funnier than trolling gammons. They're all going to be really angry about this for a solid 11, maybe 12 minutes.
Always good to refresh your brand 🙂
Usual rules apply. Does it affect me in anyway?
No.
Might it positively help someone else? Maybe.…computing…
Status: good thing
Surely those rules are missing 'Might it negatively impact someone else?' 😉
Unless you're being ironic...
Am I misinterpreting this.
Mr and Mrs both being retained but the overall brand name for the line of products dropping the Mr?
No, that's exactly what's happening. But the people who used to cry 'it's political correctness gone mad' need something else to vent their impotent rage at to disguise the fact they just fear what they don't understand. And it's easier to do that than try to do a bit of research, opening their minds, attempting to find a shred of understanding and empathy, and maybe changing their views.
To quote JM Barrie's text, 'Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight: always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary?'
I can see why you're called WorldClassAccident
Or maybe I'm being offended for others.
Is that a good thing or bad ??
I'm not sure, truly confused.... help ?
How many potatoes does it take to kill an Irishman?
None.
Speaking as a person of Irish heritage that made me laugh. I felt a bit bad about laughing, but I laughed.
More clickbait shite to get the gammons frothing at the mouth whilst the postwar consensus and public services are shredded in the background.
Oh, and this:
Anything that offends Ben Shapiro automatically makes it the right thing to do
Mind you, I doubt he's genuinely outraged - just earning his retainer from the alt-right.
Waiting to see what they do for the Mr Men rebrand.
And the new All-Action Gender Neutral Action
The Beeb are just not the place to go for news anymore are they.
"Mr Potato Head was one of the main characters in the Toy Story film series"
He still is you moronic journo twonk
Meh
They still have both a Mr and Mrs Potato Head, it’s just that they removed the ‘Mr’ from the overall brand name.
Exactly. Otherwise you have an implied potato head patriarchy rather than equal status for both male and female potato heads.
He still is you moronic journo twonk
Your ability to appear enraged about anything and everything is impressive. 🙂
BBC news don’t even attempt to hide their bias anymore.
Now that the biggest UK news channel is firmly on the right
You what?
The article is promoting moves against gender bias. I'm amazed that you read it as critical of the move. That's why it's being reported at all.
Re the toy - it should be one toy and come with male- and female-presenting accessories in the same box.
Your ability to appear enraged about anything and everything is impressive
"Appear" being the operative word 😛
Re the toy – it should be one toy and come with male- and female-presenting accessories in the same box.
Or none. I'm not sure why we should be imprinting children with the need to assign any kind of gender to a potato.
This rather appears.... Not to be a story.
How many potatoes does it take to kill an Irishman over a million Irish men, women and children?
None.
it should be one toy and come with male- and female-presenting accessories in the same box.
Which would have the potential to modify the my father's favourite punchline somewhat:
"I got a potato clock"
im struggling to see the issue here and i get upset about most things.....
Waiting to see what they do for the Mr Men rebrand.
Little Mx ??
I think the journo that wrote the story might have a chip on his shoulder...
Did some of you actually read the article?
Course not! But I'm gonna spout my uninformed opion anyway 🤗🤗
What next, eh? I'll tell you what next! Next it'll be Hello Kitty isn't a little girl who lives just outside of London - now she's actually a cat!
And so is her boyfriend (currently, also a little girl).
The world's gone mad.
Just don't anyone point out her/its surname is White...
I think the journo that wrote the story might have a chip on his shoulder…
FFS.
I though I might have got a pained groan-laugh at least.
Might as well not have bothered.
I'll get my coat. Well, it's more of a jacket actually....
I’m not sure why we should be imprinting children with the need to assign any kind of gender to a potato.
It's NOT ACTUALLY A POTATO YOU UTTER BILGE SPEWING FOOL OF THE HIGhEST ORDER!!!!
Still no reaction to my Dad jokes.
Just more waffle.
I hope the Daily Mash cover this story.
^^^
THANK YOU Mister-P
That is more like it - that is the level a thread like this should be at.
I'll keep my eyes peeled for more appalling puns.
Whatever next, eh? King Edwinas with our Sunday roast?
Waiting to see what they do for the Mr Men rebrand.
I doubt Mr Tickle will make the cut, after his problematic behaviour.
I doubt Mr Tickle will make the cut, after his problematic behaviour.
Yeah, but "Mr I'm Not Racist But" is looking a likely candidate to replace him.
Manufactured non-story and yet here we all are discussing it. 🙁
Madness I tell theee, worlds gone mad
I knew that this is how this thread was going to start before I opened it. Affects you deeply and personally, does it?
Mr and Mrs both being retained but the overall brand name for the line of products dropping the Mr?
Precisely. Because this:
... is clearly ridiculous and anyone crying "political correctness" about it has either not done five seconds' reading before leaping onto a keyboard in a froth, or needs to have a long hard think about their outlook.
The BBC hasn't helped here by interpreting "gender neutral" to mean non-binary. That's not what it's about, rather Mr Potato Head and Mrs Potato Head will now be part of the "Potato Head" range of toys rather than the "Mr Potato Head" range. That's it.
Ask yourself this. If the toy had originally been "Mrs Potato Head" and later they'd added a Mr Potato Head into the Mrs Potato Head line, then today they announced they were dropping the 'Mrs' bit, would you be equally outraged?
No need to piss on our chips grum.
😛
Roasted by Cougar
Although, a lot of typing to state the obvious.
Waiting to see what they do for the Mr Men rebrand.
The range is already called Mr Men Little Miss. Has been for decades. You're going to shit yourself when you see the logo.
Did someone mention Barbie earlier? There'll be Daily Express levels of rage exploding when you see what they've done.
https://www.boredpanda.com/mattel-barbie-inclusive-dolls-diversity
It's literally the lead article on their website too.
https://barbie.mattel.com/shop/en-us/ba/diversity
Although, a lot of type to state the obvious.
He needs to jacket in with the SJW routine eh?
Misterformers.
Robots who don't feel the need to disguise that they identify as part of the phallocentric patriarchy.
The only problem I have with all this is I'm one more person in the world who now knows who Ben Shapiro is. This depresses me.
In other news
She-Ra, Princess of Power is to become: Ra, Non Hierarchical Person of Consensus
Some people on this thread need to take a long hard look at themselves and it's becoming a bit of a theme; bringing common sense, rational debate and logic to what is a mouth-frothing, kneejerk OP.
Third or fourth time this week this has happened too...
phallocentric
Which is ironic because potatoes are one root crop that are not phallic shaped most of the time.
Now carrots, well......
He-man will now become Personal Pronoun of Choice - Being
Once again, Cougar types all the words that need reading.
Some people on this thread need to take a long hard look at themselves and it’s becoming a bit of a theme; bringing common sense, rational debate and logic to what is a mouth-frothing, kneejerk OP.
Third or fourth time this week this has happened too…
It's becoming a blight on the forum.
blight
Very nicely done.
Ahhh, I see, so Mrs Potatohead wants equal dibs on the merchandise?
It all makes sense now - I saw a statement a few weeks back from Mr Potatohead's lawyer in which Mr Potatohead states:
"Over time, Mrs Potatohead grew more and more resentful of the naming of the franchise. By this year she was green with envy. This made her quite a toxic person to deal with".
Strong stuff. This is no laughing matter.
Manufactured non-story and yet here we all are discussing it.
Not really, some of us are just chipping in from time to time...
I think Mrs Potato Head is sweet.
I don't think this type of thing should be aloo'd.
I'd join in with the puns but it's been a while, and I've become a little rosti
Um it seems to be all... horse shit? Like, complete pandering to idiots horse shit? They've branded the range of toys as "potato head" which just totally makes sense and Mr Potato Head in fact remains Mr Potato Head.
(it's not the best but try not to knock-he tried)
But how is this news? A company deciding on a rebrand is hardly new, is the newsworthiness because its about gender?
Its newsworthiness is because they have a PR department that sends out press releases. This isn't the result of months of painstaking investigative journalism 🙂
G
Once again, Cougar types all the words that need reading.
Cheers.
They should buy one of those dolls, they could use it to point to where the gender-neutral person touched them.
It’s becoming a blight on the forum.
If it goes much further it could become a malignant tuber.
They’ve branded the range of toys as “potato head” which just totally makes sense and Mr Potato Head in fact remains Mr Potato Head.
It would have made more sense to call the brand 'PotatoHeads' (as a collective noun) then have a Mr PotatoHead and Mrs PotatoHead as they have called the individual toys. It would have led to much less misunderstanding. Possibly.
In other news,
One of the best selling toys in the new Potato Head line-up is a Andrew Cotter model. Turns out, he's a common 'tater.
All this talk of inclusivity and not one word about Mr Egg Head!
Honestly its just brilliant seeing the "Get Woke, Go Broke" brigade losing there shit over the supposed gender assignment of a plastic potato.
aloo’d
Oh my! I made a snorting noise to that one.
All this talk of inclusivity and not one word about Mr Egg Head!
That would open up far too many opportunities for bad yolks.
My mind is already scrambled trying to cope with all the potato-based ones.
As well as admonishing those trying to bring some decorum to proceedings I'll chip in on the actual story too. To be honest Hasbro deserve a good roasting for trying to peel back history and replace a beloved children's toy like this. But the plan has probably been boiling away for some time and a mash-up of genders was inevitable at some point.
I knew there would be hassleback on page one.
It's a sorry day when I, of all people, have to tell you that you're tryin' too hard with the puns.
It's gettin' a bit gratin'
I knew there would be hassleback on page one.
It’s gettin’ a bit gratin’
Time to Gnocchi it on the head?
What's chips, roasties and mash in mayo called? A mixed grill