McKenna Pope: Want to be an activist? Start with your toys
МакКенна Поуп: Хочете бути активістом? Почніть з іграшок
When McKenna Pope was 13 she petitioned Hasbro to market its Easy-Bake Oven to boys as well as girls, and to make it available in gender-neutral colors. It worked. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
who wanted to be a chef
boxes for the Easy-Bake Ovens,
on the boxes or in the commercials,
supposed to want to be a chef,
that I added to the petition
all these national news outlets
invited me to their headquarters
even especially as a kid,
thing was a waste of time,
because what's better revenge
to (female dog) about."
wanting to make change in the future
to me and my family.
how they could make a change,
of you watching at home can too
can do and that you believe in,
YouTube, through Reddit, through Tumblr,
hearing about all day today,
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
McKenna Pope - Teen activistWhen McKenna Pope was 13 she petitioned Hasbro to market its Easy-Bake Oven to boys as well as girls, and to make it available in gender-neutral colors. It worked.
Why you should listen
If anyone's still worried about today's teenagers melting their brains on the Internet, there's at least one who stands out against the crowd: teen activist McKenna Pope. In 2012 Pope's four-year-old brother, who had a passion for cooking, was beyond excited to ask for an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas. But, confused by the pink and purple colors and the television ads that only featured girls using the toy, he became discouraged.
Pope, thirteen at the time, was indignant that her brother should think any less of himself as a boy who liked to cook. Naturally Pope turned to the Internet. She posted a video and written petition urging the CEO of Hasbro to change its marketing and packaging around the Easy-Bake Oven to make it appealing to boys as well as girls. Pope could hardly anticipate what came next: She received 45,000 signatures and a call from Hasbro, inviting her to their headquarters in Pawtucket, Rhode Island to show her their new unisex designs.
McKenna Pope | Speaker | TED.com