Hasbro Mr. Potato Head gets gender neutral makeover

Hasbro Mr. Potato Head, The headquarters of toy maker Hasbro, with a giant Mr. Potato Head figure.

(Image credit: Kristoffer Tripplaar / Alamy Stock Photo)

By Selina Maycock published 26 February 21

Hasbro Mr. Potato Head has been given a makeover as the toy manufacturers take steps to make the iconic figure gender-neutral and 'inclusive.'

The plastic potato-shaped play toy was launched almost 70 years ago in the early 1950s by the American toy line Hasbro and featured Mr. Potato Head and Mrs. Potato Head characters. The aim of the play was to allow children to decorate their toy with a variety of plastic parts, including ears, eyes, shoes, a hat, nose, pants, and a mouth.

But in a bid to bring the toy up to date with modern society and equal treatment without discrimination, Hasbro has announced plans for a relaunch of the toy, and there are some distinct changes.

First up, the toy will be going gender-neutral, which means that in the future, it will simply be known as Potato Head, removing the toy's titles from its main branding.

The company confirmed that this was to make sure "all feel welcome in the Potato Head world."

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"The new branding and logo bring a fresh look with a whimsical color palette and will introduce a new product, including creating your own potato head family, to appeal to the modern consumer," a spokesperson for the brand said.

While the company's overall branding will change simply to "Potato Head," the company confirmed that it will still be releasing both Mr. Potato Head and Mrs. Potato Head toys.

'I am proud to confirm that MR. & MRS. POTATO HEAD aren't going anywhere and will remain MR. & MRS. POTATO HEAD,' 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 pic.twitter.com/6I84KrxOLQFebruary 25, 2021

Speaking about the new features, which will see the new Potato Head family toy launching this fall, includes two large potato bodies, one small potato body, and 42 accessories, Hasbro said it's "a celebration of the many faces of families, allowing kids to imagine and create their own Potato Head family."

The potato family can have up to two parents and a baby, and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has welcomed the gender-neutral move on toy shelves.

"Hasbro's decision to introduce Potato Head as a gender-neutral toy is the latest move in a larger movement towards greater diversity and inclusion in toys and media aimed at kids," Rich Ferraro, GLAAD's chief communications officer, said in a statement. "By offering a toy that exists outside of the binary of male and female, 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."

Selina Maycock

Selina is a Senior Entertainment Writer with more than 14 years of experience in newspapers and magazines. She currently looks after all things Entertainment for GoodtoKnow, Woman&Home and My Imperfect Life.

Before joining Future Publishing, Selina graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2006 with a degree in Journalism. She is fully NCTJ and NCE qualified and has 100wpm shorthand. Having spent the start of her career working on local newspapers and online, Selina spent six years as Acting News Editor and Entertainment Reporter at the Scunthorpe Telegraph where she dug into hard news stories, conducted interviews, covered court reporting, features, and entertainment, whilst going to gigs in her spare time.

Whilst at the paper she was awarded an O2 Media Judges' Special Award for helping a terminally ill cancer sufferer realise his dying wish and marry his childhood sweetheart through a successful newspaper campaign. Things like this are close to her heart when it comes to using journalism to make a positive difference in people's lives.

Selina later branched further into all things celebrity to became a Showbiz Writer at Heat magazine, covering red carpet events, showbiz parties, and various launches before going freelance for two years. One of her biggest celebrity achievements - aside from generating celebrity exclusives - was interviewing Take That (including Robbie Williams) and bumping into Simon Cowell so much at events she told him 'I'm calling you my showbiz dad!'

In 2017 she joined TI Media as a senior reporter on Woman, Woman's Own, Woman&Home, Woman's Weekly celebrity desk before branching online in 2020 when Future gave her the opportunity to focus on digital-first.

When she's not interviewing celebrities you can find her exploring new countryside walking routes, catching up with friends over good food, or making memories.