Plucky Girl Convinces Hasbro To Market Easy Bake Oven To Boys, Maybe Destroys American Manhood

You may have heard about this when it popped up a few weeks back : 13 year old McKenna Pope of Garfield, New Jersey, started a petition on Change.org calling on Hasbro to change its marketing for the Easy Bake Oven to make the product appealing to both boys and girls. She also made the video above, in which she explains her campaign was motivated by her 4-year-old brother saying he'd like to make half-baked dough messes, but that since Easy Bake is really "for girls," no maybe not. In a development that surprised absolutely no one, the story immediately became fodder for culture warfare, with progressives nodding approvingly at the young activist and conservatives either bemoaning the story as part of the war on masculinity or huffing that everyone knows that all great chefs are MEN anyway.

So now, Hasbro has announced that it will indeed be introducing a redesigned Easy Bake Oven next summer, with packaging and advertising that features both girls and boys. Hasbro invited McKenna and her family to their Pawtucket, Rhode Island, headquarters to see the new silver and black toy and meet with the toy's marketing team. Yay!

Of course, the new oven "has been in development for 18 months," so what this really means is that Hasbro was making changes to the product already, and used this story as an opportunity to make it appear that they were responding to McKenna's petition. And maybe it's a bit of both; no word on whether the gender-inclusive marketing for the new version was already in the works, or if the company is now going to push it a bit more aggressively in response to the petition. Given that the petition only surfaced at the end of November, the former seems more likely, but still, good on Hasbro for some nimble public relations.

In the meantime, reactions among wingnuts have been pretty much what you'd expect; comments on the Blaze have been about equally divided between "Oh, that's nice" and somewhat more alarmed views:

• Cooking time is one thing,gearing girly item towards boys is another. I would never get my son an easy bake oven and I have to admit I’ld look at him a little different if he asked for one...If he grows up to be a chef I’ll be proud but playing easy bake oven is one step from barbies.

• his big sister will be the next Democrat, Sandra Fluke spouting off about her needs, her desires as if she thinks anyone cares.

• Someone still doesn’t understand boys are boys and girls are girls…. Except where parents indoctrinate their kids even as infants

• HAS[BRO] needs to change it’s name to HAS[BI]

• This gal I’m quite sure got her impetus from her feminist mom and feminized dad to bring “equality” to children’s gender. Equality means remove/discourage male tendencies and compromise toward feminine tendencies.

• Anyone remember the Scripture that says it would be better to be thrown into a lake with a millstone tied around your neck than to lead a child astray? I also include the child who has been USED to get this agenda passed. BARF!

And we'll give the last word to a theorist at Jonah Goldberg's mom's website, which probably will help some of you fill in a space on your Wingnut Bingo cards:

• Rush had an excellent caller today talking about how all of the mass shootings have in common being done by young white males from well off families. Then she pointed to how today´s society is suppressing basic male instincts and how it is affecting young males of today, in other words "chickifying" our young males.

  This unisex Easy Bake Oven is just another example.

Hey, you know what OTHER  Hasbro product primarily aimed at girls also has a surprising following among males?

[ YouTube / NY DailyNews / TheBlaze ]

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