Waitrose accused of 'ridiculous virtue-signalling' after starting to sell gender-neutral CRUMPETS in store
The snack comes in packs of four for £1.50 and is described as 'light and fluffy crumpets, just as fun as they are delicious'.
But their debut follows the gradual removal of gingerbread men which have been replaced by gingerbread people at many supermarkets.
And while Waitrose still sells a gingerbread man, others including Morrisons and Sainsbury's now offer gender-free options.
Women's rights campaigners today questioned the new crumpets, with Party of Women leader Kellie-Jay Keen saying 'personally I just want them to hold enough butter'.
She added: 'It's ridiculous. They are trying to virtue signal with something as nice as a crumpet.
'Are Waitrose just employing straight out of university morons who think this is a way for the company to show inclusivity?'
The campaigner added she took issue with the idea everything should be 'made sexless' in order for women to be 'taken seriously'.
She also recalled the move to replace gingerbread men with gingerbread people, saying 'nobody was upset about' them.
'I think most of these things people shrug it off with a laugh but I guess overwhelmingly if everything goes this way it does make a difference,' she told MailOnline.
Jean Hatchet, a 'radical feminist activist from Sheffield' also branded the decision 'silly'.
Speaking to MailOnline, she said: 'I think this is just silly. No one is offended by food being called 'man' or 'woman' as we weren't with gingerbread 'men'.
'It shows how ridiculously scared everyone, including retailers, have become around using accurate language for sex.
'The only issue is the reality of the sex of a woman being put at risk by refusing to acknowledge it as a biological reality. A crumpet doesn't have a sex.'
Some shoppers have nevertheless praised the taste of the crumpet, with one saying 'love the Waitrose unusual crumpets especially the Crumpet People that are in store now'.
Another said: 'Really tasty and such a great shape for small children.'
Shelley Charlesworth, of Transgender Trend, which calls for an 'evidence-based approach to the medical treatment of gender dysphoric children and science-based teaching in schools', said: 'Goodness what happened to just crumpets?
'I guess calling them people and letting children decide whether, or even if, they are boys or girls, seems fine. A bit like Jelly Babies.'
Criticism has Transgender campaigner Charlie Craggs said the crumpets were doing nothing to help the problems faced by the trans community.
She said: 'Trans people literally do not care if Mr Potato Head or gingerbread and crumpet men are made gender neutral or non binary or whatever, we have much bigger problems, like being defined out of existence and out of public life by the Supreme Court.
'We do not want crumpet people, we want safety and to stop being hounded by JK Rowling's mob of women with ugly haircuts.'
Meanwhile Shelley Charlesworth, of Transgender Trend, the UK's leading organisation calling for an evidence-based approach to the medical treatment of trans identified young people, added: 'Goodness what happened to just crumpets?
'I guess calling them people and letting children decide whether, or even if, they are boys or girls, seems fine. A bit like Jelly Babies.'
In December, the Old Inn in Crawfordsburn, County Down, included a Gingerbread Person as a sweet treat on its £35 Festive Afternoon Tea Menu - blasted as 'wokery crap' by former Coronation Street actor Charlie Lawson.
Mr Lawson, best known as Jim McDonald in the soap, said: 'It's just ridiculous, it's childish bloody nonsense - a Gingerbread Person!'
Sainsbury's was also forced to defend itself last Christmas when it released a festive snack - breadcrumb-coated chicken dubbed 'gingerbread people with ketchup.'
This followed on from a row in 2022 after it released a pack of two gingerbread people, although one had blonde hair and pink underwear.
One shopper said on a Facebook page at the time: 'On come on!!!'
A Waitrose spokesman said of the crumpet people: 'Customers love our crumpets and this new take on our trusty favourite brings a hole new level of fun for younger food lovers.'
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