People are genuinely offended by Hasbro’s plans to introduce a gender-neutral Potato Head

Prominent right-wing commentators have got themselves worked up over another gender kerfluffle again.

But for right-wing people, there may be some relief –  at least Hasbro still seems to believe in the nuclear family. 

The announcement about Potato Head came alongside other news about the Potato Head franchise, including the fact that Hasbro plans to start selling ‘Potato Head’ family kits in the autumn.

This time, it’s about Mr.Potato Head – yes, the toy that’s just a plastic potato with a mustache and shoes from Toy Story. Hasbro, the manufacturer, announced that they’ll be dropping the Mr to make it a gender-neutral toy, as part of an update for the modern age.

Seems straightforward, right? It also seems like a lot of kids who would be the target demographic - between 4-10 years old - probably wouldn’t care too much. But rightwing commentators are pretty upset about it.

Some of the usual suspects – such as Sean Hannity - took it as a personal affront.

In an article on his website, Hannity wrote that “Mr.Potato Head was cancelled.”

Megyn Kelly, a prominent news anchor in right-wing television, asked whether this change meant that no one could have a gender anymore, saying that the “Mr” was what ‘made him interesting.”

Tim Pool, a right-wing Internet personality, pointed out that the whole conversation was a little bizarre.

Ben Shapiro also weighed in, asking why Barbie wasn’t ‘named something more gender neutral’.

Erick Erickson added that it was ‘woke-o Haram’, in reference to the terrorist group Boko Haram that has killed hundreds of people in swathes of Africa.

It wasn’t just media personalities and right-wing commentators who were annoyed by the news – a lot of people just didn’t get the point.

But Hasbro has since clarified that Mr.Potato Head and his partner, Ms.Potato Head, will still be keeping their gendered titles – only the brand name and the logo are changing.

The Daily Show summed the whole thing up pretty well.

Speaking to the BBC, some people seemed to think it was just a move towards being more progressive.

"There is movement around gender neutrality at the moment," Frederique Tutt, a toy industry analyst for the NPD Group told the BBC. "It’s something that Hasbro has been addressing, along with inclusivity." 

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