I've heard it said that "ask and you shall receive", but I guess in this case it's more like petition and you shall get heard. After starting a petition asking Hasbro to make their Easy-Bake Oven a more gender-neutral toy, McKenna Pope got her wish and more. If you haven’t heard of McKenna Pope, she's the 13-year-old girl from New Jersey who questioned Hasbro on why they don't make a gender-neutral Easy-Bake oven. It all started after ... Read More

I don’t know about you, but I grew up positively drowning in Barbies. As I got older, I began to notice that all mine looked the same. (Go figure!) I read articles explaining just how unrealistic Barbie’s proportions are, and had to come to terms with the fact that I would never have perpetually pointed toes, hair that changes color in the pool, or perfectly symmetrical lady parts. We all know the dangers of comparing ourselves ... Read More

It’s about time that Hasbro began marketing their famous Easy-Bake Oven, which has been aimed towards preteen girls since its conception in the 1960s, in a more gender-neutral manner. Inspired by her little brother, one 13-year-old New Jersey girl has started a petition on Change.org to get the company to make the toy oven more boy-friendly. McKenna Pope of Garfield, N.J. wants the company to drop its all-girl advertising ... Read More

I remember getting American Girl catalogs every few weeks in the mail when I was a little girl. I would beg my parents for a doll, and one Christmas I found Samantha waiting underneath my tree. Despite my love for turn-of-the-century girl Samantha, I always wanted one of the My American Girl dolls--the customizable ones with contemporary clothes and range of skin and hair colors. But I never saw one that looked just like me, with medium-tone ... Read More

I’m sure you all remember the controversy surrounding manufacturer LEGO’s incredibly sexist line of toys called “Friends,” heavily simplified from their normal toys and marketed specifically to little girls. I’m sure you also remember the completely legitimate outrage over these toys (John Darnielle won my heart with his call to arms to “leaflet and raise hell”) and the attempt of SPARK activists ... Read More