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Should Boys Be Added to the Easy-Bake Oven Commercials? This One Thinks So (Take the Poll)

Dec. 3, 2012 1:45pm Mike Opelka

McKenna Pope claims that her 4-year-old brother loves to cook and he wants an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas (he also wants a dinosaur). However, the company that makes Easy-Bake Ovens appears to be marketing their toy ovens only to girls. McKenna claims that the marketing is making the young boy feel bad about his desire to become a chef.

Male role models for young chefs are everywhere. Chef Gordon Ramsay has a handful of shows on the Fox Network, Bravo’s Top Chef is of full talented men (and women), and the Food Network – an entire channel devoted to cooking – has a long history of promoting men who cook.

So, the 13-year-old New Jersey girl is petitioning Hasbro Toys to change the marketing of its iconic the Easy-Bake Oven.

Should Easy Bake Ovens Change Their Advertising To Include Boys?

Image: Hasbro

Young Ms. Pope’s online petition also asks that you sign electronically and also send a request for the change to Hasbro executives like CEO Brian Goldner, Senior VPs Billy Lagor and Eric Nyman. In case you are interested in joining the battle, here’s McKenna’s suggested text for your letter:

I believe your product, the Easy-Bake Ultimate Oven, a favorite of mine as a young child, promotes gender roles in society. Your packaging for the product and it’s promotional materials advertise baking and cooking as a solely girls hobby. Also, it’s “girls” coloration of purple and pink make it seem as though cooking is “girly”, which it is not by any means. Please, Hasbro, I urge you to include males on your packaging, and feature your product in less gender specific colors, such as red, green, or blue. I thank you so much in advance for your understanding of my concerns, and please, help our youth understand that cooking and baking is for everyone, not a specific group of people.

Sincerely,
[Your name]

The petition makes strong points for the inclusion of men in marketing the ovens by citing the many examples of famous male chefs like Emeril and Gordon Ramsay.

The video supporting McKenna Pope’s petition is below:

The toy company actually tried to lure young male chefs to the Easy-Bake franchise some time back. In 2002, Hasbro was trying to see a product that was a re-packaged Easy-Bake oven called the Queasy-Bake Cookerator. Apparently the “cookerators” did not sell well enough to live on, but the ads live on thanks to YouTube.

TheBlaze has reached out to Hasbro’s corporate offices for a comment on the petition, as well as additional history on the Queasy-Bake Cookerator. One spokesperson was not aware of the campaign, but promised to kick our request for comment up the corporate ladder. We will update this story with any pertinent information.

Perhaps Hasbro will make a change to mark the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Easy-Bake Oven in 2013.

Image: SuperChefBlog.com

Where do you stand on making toy advertising “gender neutral?” Take our Blaze Poll.

Easy-Bake Oven
TheBlaze also covered 2011′s vital issue of The Easy-Bake Oven’s light bulb change.

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Comments (104)

Centralsville
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:48pm
Our culture is sick, beyond repair. Feminism has completely destroyed America. It is what destroyed the American family and it is the birthplace of political correctness. Even our violence is the result of the destruction of the family and the removal of male discipline from our society. Women raise our children without their fathers. Women run our public schools. Our courts and our government instituting this feminism have destroyed America. This is nothing but a reflection of that breakdown. Minority communities, run completely by women, have been completely destroyed, whites are catching up in this race to the bottom. America won’t come back until feminism is destroyed.

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- AllAmericanGirl22
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 3:01pm
  So you’re blaming women in general? How are all of America’s problems all women’s fault? Sure radical feminism is bad, but there are a lot of more important issues to focus on. You shouldn’t be blaming an entire group of people for everything.
  
  Report this comment
- DEFCON4
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 3:15pm
  @central, Is that you, Archie ?
  
  Report this comment
- longknifed
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 3:29pm
  feminism is part of cultural marxism that rotted western society. It was kept out of the soviet union until it collapsed, now your seeing Russia disintegrate in real time. Women are not the problem, feminism is. most women despise feminism because they know it has nothing to do with them. typically only the ugly man-hater lesbians are the ones “fighting.”
  
  Report this comment
- Lucy Larue
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 4:40pm
  CENTRALSVILLE,
  You are dead on!
  What are the Libbers doing now to protest SHARIA?! NOTHING! NOTHING!
  Sandra Fluke represents the idiocy and shallowness of the entire “Women’s Lib” movement.They are despicable cowards. they are ALL needy progressives.
  
  They are destroying our nation. I despise them.
  I am the oldest of six. My two brothers helped me make the little cakes for my Easy Bake oven. We shared the results.
  I played Cowboys with my brothers. I had my own gun and holster.
  Let people do what people do without TELLING them what they SHOULD do!
  We will work it out!
  
  Report this comment
- goahead.makemyday
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 5:00pm
  ALLAMERICANGIRL22
  What CENTRAL is saying is that FEMINISM not Women is to blame. You can be a woman and not be a feminist, in fact the vast majority are not feminist. Aside from combat operations where in America are women NOT equal to men? If there are no more inequalities then it is for superiority, the Black Superiority is the same case.
  
  Report this comment
- DontStopBelieving
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 6:37pm
  Feminazis are ruining this country and ruining men.
  
  Report this comment
- December4
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 6:00am
  Let’s just castrate all boys at birth which is what the left wants. Read fresh political commentary at: http://smallcraftadvisorychronicles.blogspot.com/
  
  Report this comment
ResistSocialism
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:47pm
Don’t care.

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NILAP
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:40pm
I would have Emeril design one for the boys. But I like the idea of a grill even better.

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- booger71
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 3:00pm
  Or an easy meat smoker for boys
  
  Report this comment
- Taquoshi
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 4:20pm
  I wouldn’t have purchased it because it was pink, my absolutely least favorite color. How about a neutral color, such as green, tan or purple? By the way, our son likes to cook and he’s pretty good at it when he puts his mind to it.
  
  Report this comment
AMickey1126
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:39pm
Most definitely. For all of the people saying how it’ll make them “light in the loafers,” you need to go suck an egg. Most chefs in this world are male. I would never, ever make a child feel discouraged for wanting to learn a skill that’s as important as this. Let kids learn how to make food. Maybe they’d stop eating so much fast food these days.

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- longknifed
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:51pm
  True, men do a lot of these things far better than women. But you have to be suspicious of the intent of this because these people are employed only to destroy society. They only want to make little boys play with pink toys rather than a man becoming a chef like you said.
  
  Report this comment
- ThomasUSA
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 3:42pm
  I loved playing with my sister’s easy bake oven… I’m a guy…you know FOOD…. I was fascinated how two lightbulbs could cook something I could eat! I still love to cook today… I still had my 22 rifle, and played with M-80s when they were the blow your hand off strength…If it went boom, caught on fire, excercised my creativity/ destructivity (* new word?), or I could eat it or rip tear it up, etc.. I was good with it! I don’t think the issue is what options are available for boys and girls… it’s forcing their choice like our schools / government are all doing…. Guys will rip the arms off of dolls and girls will give toy trucks names and put them to bed….
  
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kidcanvas
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:35pm
easy *** oven for boys lol amazing …. glad im almost dead ..what a country this turned into jesus

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- thegreatcarnac
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 3:52pm
  Hope you really don’t mean you’re really dying…..Kid.
  
  Report this comment
izukiddin
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:18pm
Looks like the little Pope boy is a little light on his feet. Also, it looks like big sister is encouraging his gender confusion for her own purpose.

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- pavepaws
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:33pm
  Pretty succint letter for a 13 year old.
  
  Report this comment
- Kupo
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:37pm
  You do realize that all of the best cooks and chefs in the world are men, right?
  
  Report this comment
- Clownzilla
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 3:31pm
  @Kupo
  
  Most of those Chefs didn’t play with little pink ovens and Barbie dolls. They were normal little boys that played with GI Joes and Legos. I’m a great cook and I would of never played with this girl $%#@!
  
  Report this comment
krod2516
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:14pm
Easy bake oven is dumb. It taste like crap and takes up a bunch of space. Teach your children how to prepare real food. Anyone can turn an oven on and spoons some cookie dough on a pan. Not hard, I promise. I love cooking in the kitchen with my daughter. My sons were usually to wild in the kitchen when they were little. My oldest loves cooking know, but not with mommy.

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KyleD
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:12pm
I remember the boy’s version of easy bake ovens…they were called creepy crawlers when I was a kid. It was an easy bake oven but instead of baking little cakes you’d make bugs and spiders from a gummy sort of substance. I had one…enjoyed it.

But really, the most successful chefs are male. Men like making food because we like eating it. I started baking cookies as a really young kid because my mom didn’t make them as often as I wanted and made the mistake of saying “If you really want cookies you should make them yourself.” Now I’m pretty good at cooking in general because I like eating what I make.

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BlackCrow
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:11pm
Why not?

I like to bake and make candies. I’m also 6’1″ 230 pounds, a combat Vet who likes to shoot and ride Harleys. Want to make something out of it Bub?

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raisingkidsforthetruth
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:07pm
It is the PARENTS job to teach the boy that TOYS nor ADVERTISING define his role. He does. If he wants the toy for Christmas buy it for him and let him have a blast cooking with it. And as a parent who has eating many an easy bake item have fun doing that too…products don’t define us we do.

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TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:06pm
Should Boys Be Added to the Easy-Bake Oven Commercials? This One Thinks So.

Next they’ll be wanting a little boy to be in a commercial for the “Pink Princess Wooden Toy Castle” to help with interior decorating decisions…

Yep, I have grand daughters. And my grand sons have no kiddie cooking skills or the desire thank God.

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Mapache
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:04pm
Isn’t it hard to cook with those new florescent lightbulbs? Doubt they could even heat a pop tart.

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RoDogg
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:03pm
If your boy is asking for an easy bake oven …. your doing something wrong! LOL

Just sayin

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biohazard23
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:01pm
Oh please. What’s next, putting boys in Barbie commercials playing with her Dream House then posing in girl pj’s in the American Girl catalog? What does these kids’ father have to say about the whole thing? Or is he even in the picture?

BTW, Gordon Ramsey is hardly the ideal role model for boys, unless you want them to grow up berating everybody and making asses out of themselves at the drop of a hat.

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- Eastinfection
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 5:38pm
  I used to “cook” my sister’s Barbie dolls in her EZ-Bake oven…
  
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blackyb
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:00pm
Only if they wear a pink dress.

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drphil69
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:00pm
NO! The girls bake the cookies and cakes FOR the boys!!

LOL!

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- oldbullfrog
  Posted on December 18, 2012 at 3:53pm
  Add your comments
  
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banjarmon
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 1:58pm
Get the boy a BBQ grill and learn to bake pizza on it!!!

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- biohazard23
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:02pm
  Sounds good to me!
  
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- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:37pm
  Mmmmmm, Mmmmmm, Mmmmmm!
  
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- goahead.makemyday
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 5:04pm
  Easy BBQ Grill! Great Idea!
  
  Report this comment
banjarmon
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 1:57pm
Add your comments

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- DEFCON4
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 2:55pm
  Can’t, too busy eating your grilled pizza, Banjarmon….yummy…lol…
  
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scuba13
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 1:57pm
I must be lucky, all of my children and grandchildren want to do is go hunting,fishing, or head down to the ocean. It helped that I was doing those things with them since the day they were born.

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kadster01
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 1:57pm
“Queasy Bake Cookerator?” Are they trying to suggest that boys who cook could only make things that make people sick? I don’t get it. For once, I agree that a product needs to be gender neutral. The majority of world famous chefs are men. However, one doesn’t have to force an existing company to comply. Competition means someone else can make the same product better.

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ArmedAndReallyPissed
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 1:56pm
Right. Next Boys easy bake, then Gay Boys easy bake, then Same Sex Married couples easy bake, then Pot smokers easy bake. I’m glad were focused on the real important friggin issues.

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- azcowboy1
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 3:09pm
  Come on dude. Lets not belittle the value of the easy bake oven in our society. How about a Obummer easy bake oven. I want one.
  
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- LakeHartwellSailor
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 5:52pm
  Pot smokers Easy-Bake? Only does brownies, I guess, eh?
  
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CatB
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 1:54pm
They need a Guy (3D Food Network) or any other number of great male chefs to do an oven for the boys .. and not all girls want pink either .. just saying they should mix it up.

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deeberj
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 1:49pm
Why can’t this boy’s mother or older sister teach him to cook in a real kitchen? Why do they need to try to force a company to change what works for them and makes money for them, just to accomodate a kid who wants to learn how to cook? Don’t they realize an EZBake oven isn’t real coooking? Get real and do a bit of work to raise your children the way you want. It’s not Hasbro’s job.

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- Pork_Anvil
  Posted on December 3, 2012 at 1:52pm
  word.
  
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Tri-ox
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 1:48pm
Stupid.

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Vilgax
Posted on December 3, 2012 at 1:47pm
Then stop making it pink! Duh!

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