McKenna Pope: Want to be an activist? Start with your toys
McKenna Pope: Dëshiron të bëhesh aktivist? Fillo me lodrat e tua
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
një fëmijë që donte të bëhej një shef kuzhine
një të tillë kur ishim të vegjël.
boxes for the Easy-Bake Ovens,
on the boxes or in the commercials,
supposed to want to be a chef,
ku mund ta ndryshoj këtë,
peticion dhe ta shpërndash
that I added to the petition
all these national news outlets
invited me to their headquarters
momenti më i bukur i jetës sime.
even especially as a kid,
vecanerisht si një fëmijë,
është po ashtu i rëndësishëm.
në jetën e vërtetë,
me mua dhe familjen time,
thing was a waste of time,
because what's better revenge
sepse hakmarrja më e mirë
to (female dog) about."
wanting to make change in the future
të ndryshuar të ardhmen
to me and my family.
për mua dhe familjen time.
how they could make a change,
se si mund ta realizonin këtë ndryshim
of you watching at home can too
ju që shikoni të shtëpi mundeni gjithashtu
can do and that you believe in,
dhe ju besoni
gjithë këtyre mediave sociale,
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