One small step for toys…

Toy giant Hasbro has confirmed that it will soon reveal a gender-neutral Easy-Bake Oven, following a campaign led by a 13-year-old girl from New Jersey.

Teen McKenna Pope collected over 44,000 signatures on an online petition calling for the toymakers to create a version of the hugely popular toy that would appeal to all ages.

Pope started her campaign after deciding to buy her younger brother Gavyn, aged 4, one of the toys for Christmas, but only finding pink and purple versions.

The campaign captured public imagination and attracted thousands of supporters, including celebrity chef Bobby Flay.

Success! McKenna pictured with her younger brother Gavyn

On Monday of this week McKenna and her family were invited to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, home of the Habsro headquarters, where company executives showed off a new Easy-Bake prototype in black, silver and blue.

Speaking after the meeting McKenna said: "I think that they really met most or even all of what I wanted them to do, and they really amazed me", and added that her brother thought the new look was “awesome”.

A company representative for Hasbro said customers are likely to see the new design in stores next summer. 

McKenna's original petition, posted on Change.org read: 

My little brother has always loved cooking. Being in the kitchen is his favorite out of school activity, and he yearns to have the opportunity to cook on his own, or at least with limited help.

Imagine my surprise when I walked into his room to find him "cooking" tortillas by placing them on top of his lamp's light bulb! Obviously, this is not a very safe way for him to be a chef, so when he asked Santa for his very own Easy-Bake Ultimate Oven, produced by the Hasbro company, for me to help him be the cook he's always wanted to be, my parents and I were immediately convinced it was the truly perfect present.

However, we soon found it quite appalling that boys are not featured in  packaging or promotional materials for Easy Bake Ovens -- this toy my brother's always dreamed about. And the oven comes in gender-specific hues: purple and pink.

I feel that this sends a clear message: women cook, men work.

I have always been adamantly against anything that promotes specific roles in society for men and women, and having grown up with toys produced by the Hasbro corporation, it truly saddens me that such a successful business would resort to conforming to society's views on what boys do and what girls do.

I want my brother to know that it's not "wrong" for him to want to be a chef, that it's okay to go against what society believes to be appropriate. There are, as a matter of fact, a multitude of very talented and successful male culinary geniuses, i.e. Emeril, Gordon Ramsey, etc. Unfortunately, Hasbro has made going against the societal norm that girls are the ones in the kitchen even more difficult.

Please join me to ask Hasbro to feature males on the packaging and in promotional materials for the Easy-Bake Ultimate Oven, as well as offering the product in different, non gender specific colors, i.e. primary colors. Please, sign this petition, help me in creating gender equality, and help the children of today become what they're destined to be tomorrow.

 

As well as the gender-neutral version of the oven, Hasbro has also committed to featuring boys as well as girls in forthcoming adverts for the product.