Over a quarter of Brits and Americans would like to see a female or gender-neutral Santa

(Photo: Unsplash/Zainab Mlongo)

With the 'gender neutral' trend shaking up everything from personal identities to clothes and toys, it should come as no surprise that over a quarter of people also want it to shake up the tradition of a male Santa Claus. 

Despite his other well-known moniker 'Father Christmas', nearly a third would like to see Santa presented as female or gender neutral. 

That's according to a survey by GraphicSprings of 4,000 Brits and Americans who were asked what gender they would choose if they were to 'rebrand Santa for modern society'.

While 10.6 per cent of respondents said they would make Santa a woman, 17.2 per cent said they wouldn't want him to have any gender at all and would instead make him 'gender neutral'. 

Is this what Santa might look like in the future?(Photo: GraphicSprings)

But if the findings of the poll are anything to go by, it seems Santa's gender identity is safe for now as the vast majority - 72.2 per cent - said they would keep him as male. 

The logo design company also asked respondents some of the other ways they thought Santa should be brought up to speed with modern trends, with the most popular answers being that they would give him an iPhone and sports shoes to replace the traditional black boots. 

And around a quarter said they would make his life much easier by replacing the reindeer and elves with either Amazon Prime or a flying car to deliver the gifts. 

When it came to his appearance, suggestions included giving him tattoos, putting him on a diet and giving him a new hairstyle. 

(Photo: GraphicSprings)