There will no longer be Mr. or Mrs. Patate, cult toys of the Hasbro group: the manufacturer announced Thursday that it would market a non-gendered potato family,
"in order to promote gender equality and inclusion"
.
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These toys, introduced in 1952 and featured in the “Toy Story” film series, are a staple of American families.
From a plastic potato shape, children are asked to create their own character by adding attributes such as eyes - with eyebrows made up for Madame Patate, for example - a mouth, with lipstick for Madame - a mustache for Monsieur, shoes with heels or not, etc ...
But Hasbro now intends to
"make sure everyone feels welcome in the world of potato heads by officially dropping the 'Mister Potato Head' brand and logo
.
"
From this fall, the group will market
"a new set"
entitled
"Potato family"
to
"celebrate the many family faces allowing children to create their own family,"
he said in a statement on his website.
The name change will be accompanied by
"more inclusive messages"
to the
"modern consumer,"
added Hasbro, without immediately specifying whether this new gender-neutral product would be launched worldwide, or only in certain countries.
Barbie, cutting edge on the subject
In recent years, toy makers have repeatedly reviewed traditional toys - starting with dolls - in response to denunciations of stereotypes that are sexist, racist, or promoting
traditional
“beauty”
canons
.
“Mixed”
toys
, intended to avoid stereotypes of the male or female role, in particular, have multiplied.
Mattel, creator of Barbie dolls, has been at the forefront, notably with its "creatable world" range, dolls with the body of a child of 8-10 years old and with short hair.
Distributors are not left out, such as Target stores, which try to eliminate from their shelves messages reinforcing these stereotypes, such as the colors pink / blue.