Hi there! I’m McKenna Pope, and I want to share a story with you about how I made a big change when I was just 13 years old. It all started with my little brother, Gavin, who was four at the time and loved cooking. He was always mixing up ingredients from the fridge and pretending to make delicious dishes. He dreamed of becoming a chef, so I thought an Easy Bake Oven would be the perfect gift for him.
But there was a problem. When we looked at the Easy Bake Oven commercials and packaging, we noticed something strange. They only showed girls playing with the ovens, and the colors were mostly pink and purple with flowery designs. It seemed like Hasbro, the company that made the ovens, was saying that only girls should cook. This made Gavin feel like he couldn’t be a chef because he was a boy.
I wanted to change this. I wanted Hasbro to know that boys like Gavin should be able to see themselves as chefs too. That’s when I remembered a website called Change.org, where people can create petitions to make a difference. I started a petition asking Hasbro to include boys in their commercials and to make the ovens in colors that weren’t just for girls. I also made a YouTube video to spread the word.
The response was amazing! In just three weeks, 46,000 people signed my petition. It got so much attention that I was interviewed by national news outlets. Eventually, Hasbro invited me to their headquarters to show me their new Easy Bake Oven in black, silver, and blue. It was an incredible moment, and I realized that I had become an activist.
Through this experience, I learned that even as a kid, my voice mattered. And guess what? Your voice matters too! It’s not always easy, though. Some people were mean to me and my family, saying that what I was doing was pointless. But I learned an important lesson: “Haters gonna hate.” So, let them hate, and keep working on making the changes you believe in.
If you want to make a difference, you can! Think about what you care about and turn it into a cause. That little spark of an idea can grow into something big. Remember, you have the power to make a change. Thank you for listening to my story!
Research a toy or product that you think could be more inclusive. Create a presentation to share with the class, explaining why you chose this product and how you would change it to be more inclusive for everyone.
Think of a change you would like to see in your community or school. Write a petition using persuasive language to explain why this change is important. Share it with your classmates and gather signatures.
Participate in a role-playing debate where you and your classmates take on different perspectives about gender roles in toys. Discuss the pros and cons of marketing toys to specific genders and explore how it affects children.
Create an advertisement for a toy that promotes inclusivity. Use drawings or digital tools to design your ad, and make sure it appeals to all children, regardless of gender.
Write a journal entry reflecting on a time when you felt excluded or saw someone else being excluded. Discuss how you felt and what actions you could take to make sure everyone feels included in the future.
I’m McKenna Pope. I’m 14 years old. When I was 13, I convinced one of the largest toy companies in the world, Hasbro, to change the way they marketed one of their best-selling products. Allow me to tell you about it.
I have a brother, Gavin. When this whole situation happened, he was four. He loved to cook and was always getting ingredients out of the fridge and mixing them into various concoctions or making invisible macaroni and cheese. He wanted to be a chef really badly. So, what better gift for a kid who wanted to be a chef than an Easy Bake Oven, right? We all had those when we were little, and he wanted one so badly.
However, he started to realize something. In the commercials and on the boxes for the Easy Bake Oven, Hasbro marketed them specifically to girls. They only featured girls in the commercials and on the boxes, and the ovens were decorated with flowery prints in bright pink and purple—very gender-specific colors. This sent a message that only girls were supposed to cook, which discouraged my brother. He thought he wasn’t supposed to want to be a chef because that was something girls did.
This got me thinking, “I wish there was a way I could change this, that I could have my voice heard by Hasbro and tell them what they were doing wrong.” I remembered a website I had learned about called Change.org, an online petition-sharing platform where you can create a petition and share it across social media networks. So, I created a petition along with a YouTube video asking Hasbro to change the way they marketed the Easy Bake Oven by featuring boys in the commercials and on the boxes and creating them in less gender-specific colors.
The petition started to take off incredibly fast. I was getting interviewed by national news outlets, and it was amazing. In about three weeks, I had 46,000 signatures on this petition. Eventually, Hasbro invited me to their headquarters to unveil their new Easy Bake Oven product in black, silver, and blue. It was one of the best moments of my life.
What I didn’t realize at the time was that I had become an activist. I learned that even as a kid, my voice mattered—and your voice matters, too! I want to let you know that it’s not going to be easy. I faced a lot of obstacles. Some people online and in real life were disrespectful to me and my family, saying that the whole thing was a waste of time, which discouraged me.
But then I started to realize something: “Haters gonna hate.” So let your haters hate, and make your change because I know you can. I see so many people here today who want to know how they can make a change. You can take what you believe in and turn it into a cause. That spark you’ve been hearing about today can be turned into a fire. Thank you!
Activist – A person who works to bring about social or political change. – Malala Yousafzai is a well-known activist who advocates for girls’ education worldwide.
Change – The process of becoming different, often to improve a situation. – The civil rights movement brought significant change to laws and attitudes in the United States.
Petition – A formal written request, typically one signed by many people, appealing to authority with respect to a particular cause. – The students started a petition to have healthier food options in the school cafeteria.
Boys – Male children or young men. – The boys in the class organized a fundraiser to support local charities.
Girls – Female children or young women. – The girls formed a club to promote environmental awareness in their community.
Cooking – The practice or skill of preparing food by combining, mixing, and heating ingredients. – In their social studies class, students learned about different cultures through cooking traditional dishes.
Difference – A point or way in which people or things are not the same. – Understanding the difference between needs and wants is an important part of financial literacy.
Voice – The right or ability to express an opinion or make a choice. – In a democracy, every citizen’s voice is important in shaping the government.
Hasbro – A company known for producing toys and games. – Hasbro’s board games are often used in classrooms to teach strategy and teamwork.
Lesson – An activity or period of learning or teaching. – The lesson on empathy helped students understand the importance of considering others’ feelings.
