Winnie the Pooh — the decades-old childhood character made famous by books, cartoon animation specials and spin-off toys and teddies — has been banned from a Polish playground because of confusion about his sexuality and consternation at his attire.
Council members were debating which character should become the face of a new playground in the small town of Tuszyn, and among the final contestants — Pooh Bear, The Independent reported.
But some on the board raised questions about Pooh’s “dubious sexuality” and “inappropriate” attire, and one even condemned the fictional character as a “hermaphrodite,” The Independent reported.
“The problem with that bear is it doesn’t have a complete wardrobe,” said one member, Ryszard Cichy, The Independent reported. “It is half naked which is wholly inappropriate for children. [Poland’s fictional bear character] is dressed from head to toe, unlike Pooh who is only dressed from the waist up.”
The meeting was recorded by a councilor and leaked to local media, the Croatian Times said, On the recording, one council member can be heard referencing Pooh and saying, “it doesn’t wear underpants because it doesn’t have a sex.”
Another turns a critical eye on the creator of Pooh, author AA Milne.
“This is very disturbing but can you imagine — the author was over 60 and cut [Pooh’s] testicles off with a razor blade because he had a problem with his identity,” the unnamed female council member said, The Independent reported.
The local board still hasn’t settled on a character to represent the new playground.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.