Are the Dr. Seuss and Mr. Potato Head changes cancel culture?

We need a new word for people who accuse literally every progressive change as "Cancel Culture" or "woke".

Cancel culture, generally, refers to someone being fired or some change being effected by a massive public uproar.

Don Cherry wasn't fired because his comments were racist or because someone simply noticed this and acted or even because one person was upset. Don Cherry was fired because there was a huge public backlash over his racist comment. He was fired not in response to his action, or in response to any individual comment or concern but rather as a result of large public outburst. THAT is cancel culture.

Dr. Seuss and Mr Potato head (to my knowledge) faced no such large scale public outcries. While I have no doubts that they have received complaints over time, I don't believe that these actions can be said to have come with any great public pressure to do so. And pointing to the potential existence of complaints is equally ludicrous. There is a nary a product in existence which doesn't face some scrutiny. 

The image that comes along with the Dr. Seuss brand is one of acceptance and tolerance. And this move very much reflects that ideology. The perception around the imagery has undoubtedly changed over the years. It was likely a hard decision for the company to make as the drawings in Dr. Seuss books are often as iconic as the words themselves and likely behind the decision to not (at least immediately) re-release the books with new art. 

This is a move which could have an impact on their bottom line. And, that they are taking this risk and not in response to any particular public outcry is a gamble perhaps. Given the brand image, I think it the right move. But, from a business perspective only time will tell whether or not the potential lost sales are made up in renewed interest in the brand.

But, at the end, that is all this is. A brand related decision. Not cancel culture.

As for the Potato Head line up, at least in my opinion, it is something a little different. Again, I'm unaware of any large scale public outcry. Arguably, while there are base configurations which assume certain genders, the parts were always interchangeable and you could do whatever you want to your Potato Heads.

To me, this strikes me as taking advantage of pop culture more than being an act of cancel culture. From the companies PoV it allows them to streamline the main Potato Head body and then focus on selling accessories to get to the image you want. Which is undoubtedly more lucrative than selling multiple gender and age specific Potato Heads, and packaging and marketing them all individually. I suspect you'll see a bigger marketing push toward buying more outfits and faces and accessories than you did before.