New Poll Finds 27% of People Feel Santa Should Be Rebranded as Female or Gender Neutral

If you ask most people to describe Santa Claus, you’re probably going to get some variation of a jolly older man with a white beard, twinkle in his eyes, and a taste for milk and cookies. While some of those elements are up for discussion, the “man” part of the description is one that doesn’t change — and there are some people who think that it should. A new study suggests that nearly a third of people think that the iconic Christmas character should be rebranded as either female or gender neutral.

The study comes from GraphicSprings, a logo creation company (via 6abc) who polled 400 people in the U.S. and the U.K. about how Santa Clause could be modernized. Then, using the top results of that poll, surveyed 4000 people on how they would envision a contemporary take on the character. The results revealed that around 19 percent of Americans polled thought that Santa shouldn’t be male or female. A bit over 10 percent thought Santa should be a woman. And, if you’re following the math, that means that 70 percent of respondents think Santa Claus should remain male.

When the poll results from both the U.S. and U.K. are looked at together, you get roughly 27 percent of people thinking Santa needs a female or gender neutral rebrand. Of course, this isn’t the only change that was suggested in the poll. The poll also asked about Santa’s mode of transportation, his appearance, and even his style with questions about things such as his hair, tattoos, weight loss, and more. Unsurprisingly, most people felt like Santa Claus should remain his traditional self.

And maybe that’s not such a surprise. The survey was taken between October and November 2018 — right in that time of the year when people are starting to get into the holiday spirit and consumers first start seeing traditional Christmas trappings hit stores. The survey also covered respondents in the 18 to 65+ range — though it’s not clear how that demographic fully breaks down so it’s possible that if the range skewed older, that may also have contributed to the results wanting Santa to remain traditional.

Now, it’s time for you to weigh in. Do you think that Santa needs an update and, if so, would you want to see a female or general neutral Santa Claus? Let us know in the comments below.