Ron the Yarn Spinner

 

Goodbye Mister Potato Head

                                                        

 Twentieth century toys were analogue, using mechanical or simple physical methods to operate.  Toys like wind-up dolls, tops, Lincoln Logs, wooden trains, and simple board games, all functioned without the sophisticated digital display common today. None were more classic than Mister Potato Head. The original version of the toy consisted of various plastic facial features and accessories that kids  could attach to an actual potato allowing them to create their own whimsical characters. It was a very simple toy. Too simple perhaps.

In 2020, toy maker Hasbro, Inc., located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island,  “Made a significant change to the brand's name for a more inclusive and modern approach. The company introduced a new line called "Potato Head" as part of a broader effort to move away from gender-specific branding and to be more inclusive. The rebranding allowed for greater flexibility in how the toy could be marketed and used, reflecting a more contemporary understanding of gender identity and expression.”

Mister Potato Head was emasculated. Even though the toy as originally sold allowed a child total freedom to imaginatively create characters of his or her choosing, and that potatoes have no gender in the sense animals or humans do, they had  to go.  Hasbro supposedly received some complaints from parents who found rotting potatoes under couches.  Hasbro re-manufactured the toy creating a plastic version with a permanent potato-shaped base and detachable features. The notion that parents should monitor their children’s play (“What did you do with the potato I gave to you?) apparently never entered the decision- making.

Finding a toy for a birthday or Christmas gift  for a child (son, grandson, daughter, granddaughter, etc.) will be a little more challenging soon since “ In response to growing demands for inclusivity,” Toys R Us stores have started reorganizing toy sections to be more gender-neutral, allowing children to explore a wider variety of toys regardless of traditional gender norms.

“Growing Demands?”…..were people marching in the streets clamoring for inclusivity in the toy  department ? I didn’t see them. My son played “Barbies” with his sisters. They all rode “Hot Wheels.” I was unaffected by Hot Wheels marketing that was said to be geared towards boys, and neither were they. And there was no need for Hasbro to try to find ways to market the Easy-Bake Oven in a more gender-neutral way. The kids paid no attention to the picture on the box; they all got to bake.

This all falls in line with the attempt to blur the distinction between male and  female. If you want to get into step with the new gender orthodoxy, you must believe that one person’s gender is not what’s on their birth certificate but merely what that individual believes themselves to be. Create a transposition of yourself if you like. Do  you want to be a woman, you need only declare yourself one. You don’t need a doctor’s note. You don’t need anyone to certify that you’re a woman. No need to change your wardrobe or have any surgery or hormone therapy. Nope. You just need to declare, “I’m a woman.” You can  change your gender as you feel. It’s all fluid.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public School District in North Carolina instructed their principals and school counselors this summer that using the terms “boys” and “girls” is discouraged. The generic “scholars” and “students” are preferred terms. A boy can go on overnight school trips with the girls if he says he is  a girl. If any teachers are confused about what gender is and is not, the helpful and all-knowing Gender Unicorn stands ready to instruct them. It came  from the Transgender Equality Network (TEN) in Australia.

I wonder how long before the assault on gender will find its way in the consumer market in an effort to obliterate even  indirect gender references. Will Uncle Ben’s Rice become just “Bens.” Mrs. Field’s cookies, “Fields”?  Mr. Clean’s balding head replaced with a Unicorn and the name changed to ? “ Aunt Jemimah” to just “Jemimah’s? Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup to just “Butterworths”?  Will the day  come when  Mister Peanut loses his nuts?

And the new gender orthodoxy extends into clothing as well because again – “of the growing need for  gender-neutral options in all aspects of life, including fashion.”   So, we have androgynous fashion right down to our underwear promoting inclusivity and allowing individuals to express their identity beyond traditional gender norms even in the nether regions. Victoria’s Secrets are now fewer with parent L. Brand Inc.  offering a unisex line of loungewear. PINKX. ( Christmas is coming.)

 

On the first pages of our Bibles, we are told how we were created.

    God created man in his own image,

    in the image of God, he created him.

    male and female he created them.

 

It is specifically male and female that reflect the image God created. It is not just the notion that humanity alone, the collective human species of  both men and women, which bears and shows forth the image of God in creation. Sexual differentiation is not just physical but also theological. There is something deeply divine and holy in the distinct realities of being male or female. You cannot change what God has created.

Those who promote the new gender orthodoxy, say men can become pregnant, want nursing or breast feeding  a baby replaced by chest feeding,  and claim infants to be sexual. They also advocate using our tax dollars to install  tampon dispensers in the men’s restrooms of government buildings  “…making them accessible to all menstruators.” It seems to be clear these logically belong in the women’s restroom, but obviously there are those who disagree.

The Bible or the Unicorn; you choose.