By Emilie Weinbeck, Contributing Writer
Over the last several years, many of our favorite childhood toys have undergone makeovers to become more inclusive within society today.
In 2019, just ahead of Christmas, Mattel released a line of gender-neutral Barbies called “Creatable World.” This doll allowed children to customize their own non-gender identifying doll.
Most recently, Hasbro has announced that they will be dropping the “mister” from “Mr. Potato Head” and renaming the classic toy simply, “Potato Head.” This is a significant change for the company since Mr. Potato Head had been one of their most famous products since its launch in 1952.
Along with a new name, Hasbro has also decided to make their packaging gender-neutral for the product as well.
The company wrote in a statement regarding their rebranding, “Hasbro is making sure all feel welcome in the Potato Head world by officially dropping the Mr. from the Mr. Potato Head brand name and logo to promote gender equality and inclusion.”
The launch of the rebranded toy is set for this fall, right on time for the holiday season.
News of the name change quickly started spreading after an investors meeting held last Tuesday. After the meeting, Hasbro took to Twitter assuring fans, although the brand is changing, the character of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head is here to stay.
This is not a new concept for toy companies to adapt and shift to changing cultural cues.
As consumer bases continue to grow with the current times, toy companies need to extend as well to stay relevant and be seen as forward thinking when it comes to inclusivity and diversity. Now more than ever, parents are looking for toys that help their kids to simply see toys as toys which can help to encourage them to be their most authentic selves when playing.
Toys are not just being changed to be more gender-neutral. They are also to be adapted to children with special needs.
In October 2019, Mattel released the first ever Braille set of Uno cards. The company partnered with the National Federation for the Blind to make this possible.
Each card features Braille on the corner of each card, marking the card’s color and the number or action available.
The box also features Braille and instructs players to go to a website to download Braille readable files. The voice-enabled instructions are available on Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home.
Going along with the Braille theme, throughout 2019, the LEGO Group announced that it was adding building instructions in audio and Braille for four building sets.
The pilot program started with the following sets, LEGO Bricks and Ideas LEGO Classic, LEGO Friends Emma’s Art Shop, LEGO City Sky Police Drone Chase and The LEGO Movie 2 Emmet and Benny’s ‘Build and Fix’ Workshop.
LEGO is hoping to add more instructions to more sets as the program continues to grow. The instructions come free with the purchase of the LEGO set.
As we are starting a new year there are sure to be other toy companies who join in on the fight to make the world a more inclusive and diverse place for children to play.
weinbeec20@bonaventure.edu
