Mr. Potato Head is no longer a mister.

Hasbro, the company thatB次元官网网址檚 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 todayB次元官网网址檚 kids and reflect more modern families.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a potato,B次元官网网址� said Ali Mierzejewski, editor in chief at toy review site The Toy Insider. B次元官网网址淏ut kids like to see themselves in the toys they are playing with.B次元官网网址�

Barbie, for example, has tried to 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 is now 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 didnB次元官网网址檛 provide details. Both have appeared in the B次元官网网址淭oy StoryB次元官网网址� movies.

Dropping the B次元官网网址淢r.B次元官网网址� 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.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 setting this new standard,B次元官网网址� Mierzejewski said.

GLAAD, an LGBTQ advocacy group, applauded the genderless toy potato.

B次元官网网址淗asbro 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,B次元官网网址� said Rich Ferraro, GLAADB次元官网网址檚 chief communications officer, in a statement.

Mr. Potato Head first hit the toy scene in 1952, when it didnB次元官网网址檛 even come with a plastic potato B次元官网网址� kids had to supply their own vegetable to poke eyes, a nose or moustache into. Hasbro, which also makes Monopoly and My Little Pony, bought the brand and eventually added a plastic spud.

Joseph Pisani, The Associated Press

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