As a dermatologist I am delighted to hear that Beano’s Spotty is now to be known as Scotty (Cripes!Spotty becomes Scotty as the Beano reflects modern thought, 19 December).
Probably Jacob Rees-Mogg will find this “comically woke”, as he did when Beano’s Fatty was renamed Freddy. But this is serious progress. Trivialising skin conditions with nicknames and representing villains as those with skin conditions legitimises the stigmatisation of those suffering, adding to the impact on young people’s mental health.
I am all for exposure and normalisation of skin conditions in all forms of media, so I am really glad that characters like Scotty are in the Beano. Even more important is that we are now moving away from defining people by their appearance. Well done the Beano for moving with the body-positivity times.
And maybe Jacob would be a nicer man if he had grown up with more “comically woke” comics?
Dr Tess McPherson
Consultant dermatologist, Oxford
• The editors of the Beano are in danger of jumping out of the frying pan into the fire with the renaming of Spotty as Scotty, if Scotty retains his appearance. All Scots will have to deny they are prone to plooks; swearing that we don’t all eat deep fried Mars bars is a burden enough.
Margaret Squires
St Andrews, Fife
• It’s good to see that the Beano is finally moving with the times. Fatty is now Freddy and Spotty has just become Scotty. But what of poor Plug? With his large overbite, protruding ears and two buck teeth, his sobriquet is clearly a reference to “plug ugly”. The fact that his full name is Percival Proudfoot Plugsley is surely no justification for this terrible case of face-shaming.
Alan Woodley
Northampton
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