A South Florida mother is up in arms over the cartoon, which her daughter loves to watch on PBS Sprout, not because of its content but because of the penguin’s name.
“Pingu” is about the adventures of a young penguin and his daily experiences in his snowy surroundings but Maida Rodriguez, mother of a 4-year old girl, says there’s a problem with this cute cartoon character that has her reaching for the remote.
Rodriguez says the name “Pingu” is considered a not so nice word by some Hispanics “Basically, the word ‘pingu’ stands for male genitalia,” said Rodriguez.
Making matters worse, Rodriguez’ daughter Samantha loves the cartoon so much, she keeps blurting out the name in public.
“Whenever she sees a penguin, be it a stuffed toy or what not, she says, ‘Look Mommy, there’s a Pingu’. I’ve had a couple of people at stores give me the eye because my daughter is saying a very bad word.”