Despite the fact that literally no one asked for this, the beloved potato we’ve all known as Mr. Potato Head will no longer be a mister. Hasbro announced Thursday their decision to take the potato in a different direction, giving the potato-shaped toy a new name to go along with its new identity as a gender-neutral spud. The potato will be hereby known simply as Potato Head, and the change will be implemented this year. 

Now, Potato Head can go on to live its life with the rest of the genderless potatoes. But perhaps the real question here is: Why — and I cannot stress this enough — was a potato ever assigned a gender to begin with?

The famous potato, known for his breakout role in the 1995 Pixar film Toy Story, has been around for much longer than that. The inventor George Lerner came up with the concept of turning a potato into a “funny-face man” in 1949, according to The Takeout. At the time, World War II had just ended as Americans lived through a period of rationing food, so the potato was a controversial idea for some toy manufacturers who worried that playing with vegetables would seem wasteful.

But Lerner came up with the idea after taking actual potatoes and other similar vegetables straight from the garden and turning them into silly children’s toys. Lerner first started by making the potato dolls for his sisters as a child and the toy kit was officially born on May 1, 1952, after Hasbro bought the rights to Mr. Potato Head for $5,000. 

Now 69 years later, Mr. Potato Head, like other children’s toys, is being rebranded for the sake of performative corporate progressivism.

Still, as Ali Mierzejewski, the editor-in-chief of the toy review site The Toy Insider, explained, “It’s a potato. But kids like to see themselves in the toys they are playing with.” As a couch potato myself, I personally have never felt as seen as I do now by Potato Head’s rebranding. 

While there may have never been a need for a gendered potato to begin with — and material conditions won’t change for trans and non-binary people as a result of Mr. Potato Head dropping the Mister — we have nonetheless entered the age of the gender-neutral Potato. Welcome.

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Despite the many claims, tweets, and hopes for 2021, there was no sudden return to “normal” when Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president last month. That’s to be expected, of course. Biden’s assumption of the presidency wasn’t immediately going to change the fact that we’re still living through a time of extreme income inequality and a pandemic that’s taken more than half a million American lives. And, we’re still dealing with the very real ramifications of Donald Trump’s presidency, and the pervasive racism, inequity, and xenophobia that existed in America long before the words “Trump Administration” seemed like more than just a sick joke. In other words, “normal” — at least, the “normal” we should strive towards — does not exist yet.

But, even though things were never going to change overnight, the question now — 37 days into having a new president — must be: Is Joe Biden doing enough?

Certainly, Biden is doing a lot. On his first day in office, he was praised for many of his immediate actions, which aimed to undo some of the damage from the past four years. By the end of his first week, he signed over 30 executive orders to help combat racial inequality and discrimination, the climate crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. also joined the Paris Climate Accord and rejoined the World Health Organization. Biden also made several strides that impressed progressives, including his order for the Department of Justice to stop renewing contracts with private prisons and his movement to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15.

But the president has also been the subject of some criticism, mostly for his hesitation to adequately address and change harmful immigration measures. While he restored the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and eliminated restrictions on asylum seekers, under his leadership, a migrant facility for children was reopened in Carrizo Springs, TX. The center first opened under Trump in 2019. “When I read they were opening again, I cried,” Rosey Abuabara, a San Antonio community activist, told the Washington Post. “I consoled myself with the fact that it was considered the Cadillac of [migrant child] centers, but I don’t have any hope that Biden is going to make it better.” 

Jen Psaki, Biden’s press secretary, said that the facility’s reopening was just a temporary measure intended to keep kids safe from COVID-19 before they can be transferred to “families or sponsors.” But there’s growing concern around this action, and Biden’s decision, especially considering he so often criticized Trump’s immigration policy and referred to his administration’s “overcrowded” detention centers as “a moral failing and a national shame.” 

And then there’s Biden’s new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) guidelines: Under his memorandum, ICE will specifically target immigrants who “pose a threat,” including immigrants convicted of felony and gang-related offenses. This is supposedly an improvement from Trump’s ruthless guidelines, but immigration advocates say it is a dangerous return to deportation policies from Barack Obama’s presidency, and could easily encourage racial profiling and discrimination. “We believe that this memo only makes it easier for ICE to detain and deport immigrants, a clear back-track from President Joe Biden’s campaign promises and earlier Executive Orders,” the Texas-based immigration nonprofit RAICES wrote. Naureen Shah of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also called the guidelines a “disappointing step backward.” 

Biden’s most dangerous failure, though, might be his hesitation to rescind the Title 42 expulsion, a Trump order that allowed U.S. Border Patrol to deny entry to immigrants and asylum seekers — and “expel” almost 400,000 people from the country — citing coronavirus-related concerns. The order has been criticized for violating numerous domestic laws and protections for refugees, and experts say that it’s a very thinly-veiled excuse for mass deportation, as asylum seekers don’t pose greater health risks than any other group of people. (And, as Ted Cruz recently reminded us, Republicans really aren’t all too concerned about the safety risks of traveling to and from Mexico during a pandemic.) 

There are some measures that are out of Biden’s control. For instance, a Texas federal judge banned the enforcement of Biden’s attempted 100-day deportation ban. But overturning Title 42 should be a priority. “Each day that Biden fails to rescind the use of Title 42 for pretextual border enforcement means more families expelled to the dangerous situations from which they fled,” Andrea Meza, an attorney with the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, told CBS News. White House officials have said that the Biden administration needs time to implement “humane” asylum processing systems.

But that’s the recurring problem: Time is something we don’t necessarily have, when hundreds of people are getting deported, thousands of Americans are dying of COVID-19, and millions are in need of the stimulus checks we were promised. And although Biden certainly can’t fix all of America’s problems in one month, he’s dragged his feet on many pressing issues — including the fact that 44.7 million Americans have often crippling student loan debt.

“President Biden has the legal authority to cancel billions in student debt with the stroke of a pen and he must meet the moment by using that authority, which would not only set us on a path to an equitable recovery, but would also help reduce the racial wealth gap,” Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley said. 

Pressley, along with several other Representatives, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have called on Biden to cancel up to $50,000 in loan debt immediately. Biden has promised to cancel $10,000, but argued in a recent Town Hall that he would not “forgive the debt, the billions of dollars of debt, for people who have gone to Harvard and Yale and Penn.” The idea that Americans struggling with exorbitant debt are all Ivy League graduates is a common Republican talking point, and a false one. According to CNBC, just 0.3% of federal student borrowers attended Ivy League schools, and 49% graduated from public universities.

Could Biden be doing more? In many ways, yes. He has the power to cancel student debt; he has the power to rescind Title 42. But it is worth acknowledging that Biden inherited problems Trump and Obama did not, and not just because of the unprecedented crises we’re facing right now. There was an unnecessarily, unusually rough transition of power, between Trump’s outright refusal to concede, refusal to give Biden access to intelligence briefings, and refusal to stop an attempted coup on the U.S. Capitol weeks before Biden’s inauguration. 

“Incoming administration officials always want to fix policies they think are broken,” John Bellinger, a former legal adviser from George W. Bush’s National Council, told the New York Times. Along with other Republican security experts, Bellinger penned a letter urging Trump to concede in November. “But it is important for them to know what the outgoing administration was already doing and why problems that may look easy to fix from the outside may not be quite so easy.”

For example, Trump refused to share his vaccine distribution plan with Biden, which concerned both Biden’s advisers and health experts. After Biden’s inauguration, it became clear that Trump actually had no vaccine distribution plan to share in the first place.

Biden has succeeded at overturning some of Trump’s most dangerous policies, but especially in the age of COVID, we need to do more than just undo Trump’s damage. When it comes to immigration, we don’t just need something better than Obama’s guidelines and kinder than Trump’s xenophobia: As Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says, we need to reimagine our current carceral, unethical system altogether. And Biden has the chance to create — and should aim for — a legacy that’s better than “better than Trump.” Because in 2021, America needs more than just an incremental improvement — we need real change.

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SLMD Skincare, the product line created by beloved TV dermatologist Dr. Sandra Lee — also known as Dr. Pimple Popper — just put out its first face mask treatment targeted to treat and prevent.

The new SLMD Clear Out mask was developed, tested, and approved by Dr. Lee, who created a formula rich in sulfur, salicylic acid, and zinc oxide to gently exfoliate and eliminate acne-causing bacteria without over-drying the skin. The mask is suitable for all skin types, but it’s especially effective on acne-prone skin — we’re looking at you, pandemic-induced stress pimples and maskne.

In her own clinical experience, Dr. Lee says sulfur is a “powerhouse” ingredient for treating acne. “It helps stop the growth of bacteria on the skin’s surface while exfoliating and shedding dead skin cells,” she explains in a video posted on the SLMD Skincare’s website introducing the latest addition to her product line and the label’s first-ever face mask.

The mask — available on the SLMD website for $34 — has a thick cream consistency and should be applied to clean skin in an even layer, avoiding the delicate eye area, per Dr. Lee’s instructions. Leave it on for 15-20 minutes, then rinse with warm water, pat dry, and follow up with a serum or moisturizer of your choice. You can repeat the treatment up to two to three times a week, depending on how your skin responds.

While this is the first mask to be released under the SLMD label, the brand does have a full range of products, many targeted towards fighting breakouts and other common conditions like hyperpigmentation and keratosis pilaris. Plus, if Dr. Pimple Popper’s viral videos have taught us anything, it’s that she’s uniquely equipped to solve those chronic, seemingly unsolvable skin issues.

At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy something we link to on our site, Refinery29 may earn commission.

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As the House of Representatives prepares to vote on the Equality Act today, which offers much needed legislative protections for the LGBTQ+ community, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene decided that it would be a good time to post a transphobic sign outside of her office.

After the House debate on the bill — during which Greene called the Equality Act “disgusting, immoral, and evil” — Illinois Rep. Marie Newman, a freshman Democrat from Illinois, raised a transgender pride flag outside of her office to signal support for the proposed legislation. The freshman Democrat’s daughter is transgender — and Newman’s office happens to sit directly across from Greene’s.

Greene’s actions on the House floor went beyond simply voting “no” on the Equality Act, by delaying and even attempting to block its passage when she made a motion to adjourn so her colleagues could, she tweeted: “rethink destroying #WomensRights and #WomensSports and #ReligiousFreedom.”

Newman posted a tweet of her own in response to Greene, that included a video of her hanging the flag up, and a very clear message to her fellow representative: “Thought we’d put up our Transgender flag so she can look at it every time she opens her door.”

Greene, who recently lost her committee memberships by promoting extremist conspiracy theories, quickly fired back with her own video. In it, she placed a poster outside of her office, saying: “There are TWO genders: Male & Female. Trust The Science!”

Our neighbor, @RepMTG, tried to block the Equality Act because she believes prohibiting discrimination against trans Americans is “disgusting, immoral, and evil.”

Thought we’d put up our Transgender flag so she can look at it every time she opens her door 😉🏳️‍⚧️ pic.twitter.com/dV8FatQFnx

— Congresswoman Marie Newman (@RepMarieNewman) February 24, 2021

Our neighbor, @RepMarieNewman, wants to pass the so-called “Equality” Act to destroy women’s rights and religious freedoms.

Thought we’d put up ours so she can look at it every time she opens her door 😉🇺🇸 https://t.co/7joKpTh6Dc pic.twitter.com/aBGRSiIF6X

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) February 24, 2021

The back-and-forth drew attention online, leading a number of lawmakers to denounce Greene’s behavior. “This is sad and I’m sorry this happened,” tweeted Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger. “Rep. Newman’s daughter is transgender, and this video and tweet represents the hate and fame driven politics of self-promotion at all evil costs.”

Newman’s fellow Illinois Democrat Rep. Sean Casten called Greene’s sign “sickening, pathetic, unimaginably cruel.” Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly from Virginia, who has displayed a transgender pride flag outside his office since 2019, tweeted that Greene “should probably avoid the Rayburn building too if she doesn’t want to see another ‘disgusting’ symbol of love and acceptance.”

This is far from the first time that Greene has publicly discriminated against the LGBTQ+ community. Earlier this month, Greene co-sponsored legislation called the Old Glory Only Act that would ban U.S. embassies from displaying LGBTQ+ Pride flags. In January, she co-sponsored a bill called the Protection of Women and Girls In Sports Act, which would prevent trans people from participating on sports teams according to their gender identity.

Though Greene’s bigoted legislation has little chance of going anywhere, the Equality Act does, and will hopefully usher in a new era under the Biden administration. If passed, the Equality Act would expand housing and civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ people, prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in more public places. Democrats introduced it last Thursday, and it is the first step in advancing a series of historic measures President Joe Biden has pledged to sign during his first 100 days in office. Should it be passed, it would amend existing laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act to include explicit language banning LGBTQ+ discrimination in the workplace, education, housing, and other areas of life.

During the debate on the bill, Newman mentioned her daughter, saying, “Without the Equality Act, millions of Americans like my daughter can be denied housing, education, and more simply because they identify as transgender. I’m voting to pass the Equality Act for my daughter — the strongest, bravest person I know.”

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal responded to Newman’s speech saying, “From the mom of one trans kid to another, we will pass the #EqualityAct – for Evie, for Janak, for thousands more to be able to fully be who they are.”

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Outfit Details:
Rixo Cardigan, Rag & Bone Tee, Agolde Jeans, Chanel Loafers (old, similar here)

I find it hard to resist beautifully made knitwear, especially in colorful spring shades, with embroidered details, unique buttons, lace, or appliqués. These pieces are extra special and need no complicated styling – just a relaxed-fit jean, or a patterned midi skirt in complimenting colors. This season make sure to invest in at least one piece of luxe knitwear, whether heirloom quality or more budget-friendly. Below is a selection of options to help get you started.

Embroidered Cardigan

Pretty embroidered flowers line the sleeves of this soft cardigan which would make a wonderful everyday sweater to pair with denim.

Collared Sweater

A cropped spring sweater like this collared pastel style, is goes perfectly with maxi skirts or high-waisted denim.

Rainbow Cardigan

The colorful rainbow stripes and jeweled buttons on this fun cardigan have me looking forward to spring!

The post Spring Knits appeared first on Julia Berolzheimer.

One of Sarah Hyland’s most signature features is her long, dark-brown hair. Though the Modern Family alum plays with her hairstyle — sometimes it’s flat-ironed, and pulled back into a sleek ponytail, other times she wears it curly and natural — the color is almost always a rich brunette.

But now, Hyland has made a drastic change: dyeing her hair from dark brown to bright red, and she looks totally different. For her color transformation, Hyland visited L.A. hair salon Nine Zero One for an appointment with celebrity colorist Nikki Lee, who tells us that the actress has actually been toying with the idea of becoming a redhead for quite some time.

“Sarah’s been wanting to do this change for a while — and we finally did it,” Lee tells Refinery29 via email. The tone they opted for is a dimensional (and low-key very believable) shade of copper that includes a blend of highlights and lowlights you’d see on a born redhead. “It’s perfect for her skin tone and adds a fun flair for spring,” Lee adds.

Perhaps the reason the strawberry-copper hair color appears so fitting on Hyland is because, as she explains on Instagram, she identifies with her Celtic heritage. “Getting back to my Scottish/Irish roots,” the star captioned her redhead debut, a selfie shot that shows her freshly-tinted waves reflecting the light from a nearby window. Given how naturally Hyland takes on red, we’re wondering if it’s too late for her to pull an Emma Stone, and make it her new signature.

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