Co-op launching a gender neutral 'Gingerbread Person'

The Co-op Food supermarket has announced plans for a 'gingerbread person'.

The retailer is putting the finishing touches to its design and asking shoppers to come up with a gender neutral name.

It's given customers a preview of what it will look like, with grey clothing, but the rest is 'under wraps'.

In a clear rejection of the traditional 'gingerbread man', the Co-op is promoting the modern liberal notion of 'gender neutrality'.

Gender neutrality claims to avoid bias / stereotype towards a particular sex or social gender.

Gender-neutral vocabulary is being justified on the grounds that it also challenges stereotyping.

The crusade for a gender-neutral vocabulary argues that existing pronouns, such as she and he, as well as references to men and women, or ladies and gentlemen, excludes so-called 'non-binary' people.

People are even being asked to suggest 'gender neutral' names for the new biscuit.

The Co-op Food team will then create a shortlist of some of the best suggestions, before asking people to vote for their favourite.

Its website states: "Our Food team is adding the final touches to a new Co-op gingerbread person, but they’ve yet to come up with a name.

"They’d like members to join in and suggest a fitting name for our new little biscuity friend.

"The plan is to give our new gingerbread fellow some seasonal costume refreshes - a distinctively Christmassy look for December and something rather spooky around Halloween for example. So they’ll need a name that works for any time of year.

"We also need to ensure that the name is gender neutral too. Join in to suggest a name. Our Food team will create a shortlist of the ones they think will best fit the bill and we’ll be back to ask you to vote for your favourite next month."