Gender-Neutral Easy Bake Oven On The Way, Hasbro Says

Looks like the Easy Bake Oven is getting a marketing makeover; after starting a petition to have Hasbro release a gender-neutral Easy Bake Oven, 13-year-old McKenna Pope met with officials today at Hasbro's headquarters in Rhode Island.

The reason for the meeting? Showing the preteen their new Easy Bake prototype, a black, silver, and blue model that is decidedly more gender-neutral than purple and pink.

McKenna told AP that the company is doing everything she noted in her petition, which had gained support from the likes of Bobby Flay. Hasbro has reportedly been working on the new color scheme for 18 months, and plans on including boys in ads as well. According to officials, Easy Bake has had gender-neutral versions before, but this particular one could hit shelves next summer.

The bigger gender issue, however, might be asking why boys can't like purple and pink items; that's another story altogether, but this is progress.