Bakery hits back after selling ‘non-binary gingerbread people’ causes stir

12/16/2022

A bakery has responded to criticism for selling 'non-binary gingerbread people' instead of gingerbread men, claiming that it's taken three years for people to even notice the change.

The Cottage Bakery in Blackpool started facing backlash after a post about its gingerbread people gained traction on Facebook earlier this week.

The post, which has now garnered over a thousand shares and hundreds of comments, showed a picture of one of the bakery's biscuits labelled as non-binary, with the caption reading: "Really ? A non-binary gingerbread people ? What it’s really come to".

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People were quick to hit out at the name of the product in the comment section.

One person wrote: "What the hell is this world coming to?"

Another added: "Surprised they're even allowed to put ginger if they can't put the gender proper woke country".

While a third said: "It's a gingerbread man. If you're offended by THE NAME OF A BISCUIT, there is something seriously wrong…."

But despite the 'mental' response, bakery owner Paul Cook said that he's been selling the non-binary gingerbread people for years without anyone taking issue.

He told the Daily Star: "We've sold them for 20 years here and we re-labelled them about three years ago and it's only the last week that it's just got mental as somebody posted it on Facebook and everyone started going on about it."

Paul said that while they've received some backlash, others have seen the more light-hearted side.

He added: "A lot of people have been saying that it's quite funny and then a lot of people have been saying making comments saying it's wrong to do that, it's 50/50ish".

The passing of Natasha's Law in 2019 — created following the devastating death of a teenager after she suffered an allergic reaction — meant that the bakery had to start labelling their packaged products.

It was then that they came up with the new name for the gingerbread biscuits as a lighthearted joke because people had said you can't call them gingerbread men.

Paul explained: "Because we wrap the cakes we had to label them and because of a lot of people making comments that we couldn't call them gingerbread men, we called them gingerbread person

"When I went to get the labels printed, the printer guy said to me 'why don't you call them non-binary' just joking around. I said 'right just do it then.'"

He added: "It's just gingerbread, it's not a man or a woman then is it? It's nothing".

The bakery owner has been stunned by the public's response and insists the labels were never intended to offend anyone.

"It wasn't meant to upset or be offensive to anyone it was just a little bit of a joke really", he said.

Paul's bakery isn't the first to stir up controversy over gingerbread.

Last year a Florida man kicked off on social media after being sent a photo of a 'gingerbread person' for sale at a bakery in the US.

Posting the picture to Twitter, he said: "A Gingerbread PERSON. What is happening to our country".

But he was quickly met with comments ridiculing his fuming reaction.

One Twitter user replied: “Imagine being triggered or emasculated at a bakery. Go make a gingerbread man, dude bro man.”

While another said: “Screaming crying and s***ting myself because a bakery used a gender neutral word for the man I wanted in my mouth.”

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