The USA was first introduced to the popular toy Mr. Potato Head back in 1952, when the company now known as "Hasbro" (back then called Hassenfeld Brothers) purchased the rights to the toy from George Lerner.
Since then, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head have been cultural icons. They're so popular that they even appeared as characters in Disney/Pixar's Toy Storyfranchise.
Recently Hasbro announced they would be re-branding the toy simply as "Potato Head," removing the "Mr./Mrs." identifiers.
The brand said they hoped to reach more modern families with this rebranding.
"It's a potato," said Ali Mierzejewski, editor in chief at toy review site The Toy Insider.
"But kids like to see themselves in the toys they are playing with."
Conservatives are handling this news just about as well as you'd expect.
"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," said Rich Ferraro, the chief communications officer for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
Hasbro replied they will continue the pieces being sold in Mr. and Mrs. boxes, though they will drop the branding.
And yet people still can't seem to wrap their heads around the idea potatoes do not have genders.
Hasbro's decision to rebrand reportedly came from seeing "how toddlers frequently play with the toy."
"Kids will have a blank slate to create same-sex families or single-parent families. It's a prime example of the way heritage toy brands are evolving to stay relevant in the 21st century."
While the existence of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head invokes the idea of a binary, meaning they can only belong with each other, having the label removed means kids don't have to have a Mr. and Mrs.
They can have whomever they like in their potato family.
