McKenna Pope: Want to be an activist? Start with your toys

Translator: Alba Regidor Reviewer: Alicia Ferreiro

I'm McKenna Pope. I'm 14 years old,

Son McKenna Pope e teño 14 anos.

and when I was 13, I convinced

Cando tiña 13, convencín a

one of the largest toy companies,

un dos maiores fabricantes de xoguetes

toymakers, in the world, Hasbro,

do mundo, Hasbro,

to change the way that they marketed

de cambiar a forma na que vendían

one of their most best-selling products.

un dos seus produtos máis populares.

So allow me to tell you about it.

Falareilles sobre isto.

So I have a brother, Gavin.

Teño un irmán, Gavin.

When this whole shebang happened, he was four.

Cando sucedeu todo isto el tiña 4 anos.

He loved to cook.

Encantáballe cociñar.

He was always getting ingredients out of the fridge

Sempre sacaba ingredientes da neveira

and mixing them into these, needless to say,

e mesturábaos, creando beberaxes intragables,

uneatable concoctions,

non fai falta dicilo,

or making invisible macaroni and cheese.

ou facendo fideos con queixo invisibles.

He wanted to be a chef really badly.

Morría por converterse en chef de cociña.

And so what better gift for a kid who wanted to be a chef

E entón, que mellor agasallo para un rapaz que quería ser chef

than an Easy-Bake Oven. Right?

que una cociniña de xoguete, ¿non é?

I mean, we all had those when we were little.

É dicir, todas tiñamos desas cando eramos pequenas.

And he wanted one so badly.

E el morría coas ganas de ter unha.

But then he started to realize something.

Pero logo comezou a decatarse de algo.

In the commercials, and on the boxes for the Easy-Bake Ovens,

Nos anuncios e nas caixas das cociniñas

Hasbro marketed them specifically to girls.

Hasbro comercializábaas especificamente para nenas.

And the way that they did this

E facíano

was they would only feature girls on the boxes or in the commercials,

amosando só imaxes de nenas nas caixas ou nos anuncios.

and there would be flowery prints all over the ovens

e había estampados floreados nas cociniñas

and it would be in bright pink and purple,

en rosa brillante e violeta,

very gender-specific colors to females, right?

cores moi asociados ao xénero femenino, ¿non si?

So it kind of was sending a message

Con isto transmitían unha mensaxe

that only girls are supposed to cook; boys aren't.

que só as mozas deberían cociñar, non os nenos.

And this discouraged my brother a lot.

E isto desanimaba moito a meu irmán.

He thought that he wasn't supposed to want to be a chef,

Pensaba que non debía querer facerse chef,

because that was something that girls did.

porque iso era algo para nenas.

Girls cooked; boys didn't,

As mozas cociñaban, os mozos non,

or so was the message that Hasbro was sending.

ou polo menos esa era a mensaxe que Hasbro transmitía.

And this got me thinking,

E isto fíxome cavilar

God, I wish there was a way that I could change this,

que ogallá existira unha maneira de cambiar isto

that could I have my voice heard by Hasbro

¿Podería facer que Hasbro escoitara a miña voz

so I could ask them and tell them

para dicirlles

what they were doing wrong

o que facían mal

and ask them to change it.

e pedirlles que o cambien?

And that got me thinking about a website

E iso fíxome pensar nun sitio web

that I had learned about a few months prior

que coñecera uns meses atrás

called Change.org.

chamado Change.org.

Change.org is an online petition-sharing platform

Change.org é unha plataforma de intercambio de peticións

where you can create a petition and share it

onde se pode crear unha petición e compartila

across all of these social media networks,

a través de tódalas redes sociais,

through Facebook, through Twitter,

a través de Facebook, de Twitter,

through YouTube, through Reddit, through Tumblr,

de YouTube, de Reddit, de Tumblr,

through whatever you can think of.

a través do que se nos poda ocorrer.

And so I created a petition

Así que creei unha petición

along with the YouTube video that I added to the petition

e agregueille un vídeo de YouTube

basically asking Hasbro

basicamente pidíndolle a Hasbro

to change the way that they marketed it,

que cambie a forma na que comercializaba as cociniñas

in featuring boys in the commercials, on the boxes,

amosando nenos nos anuncios, nas caixas

and most of all creating them

e sobre todo empregando

in less gender-specific colors.

cores menos femeninas.

So this petition started to take off --

Así que esta petición comezou a despegar

humongously fast, you have no idea.

moi rápido, non teñen nin idea.

I was getting interviewed by all these national news outlets

Entrevistáronme en todos estes medios de comunicación nacionais

and press outlets, and it was amazing.

e prensa, e foi incrible.

In three weeks, maybe three and a half,

En tres semanas, quizais tres e media,

I had 46,000 signatures on this petition.

tiña 46 000 firmas nesta petición.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

Thank you.

Gracias.

So, needless to say, it was crazy.

Así que, non fai falta dicilo, foi unha loucura.

Eventually, Hasbro themselves invited me to their headquarters

Finalmente, Hasbro invitoume á súa sé

so they could go and unveil

para amosarme

their new Easy-Bake Oven product to me

a súa nova cociniña

in black, silver and blue.

en negro, plata e azul.

It was literally one of the best moments of my life.

Literalmente foi un dos mellores momentos da miña vida.

It was like "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."

Era como <Willy Wonka e a fábrica de chocolate>.

That thing was amazing.

Foi incrible.

What I didn't realize at the time, however,

Do que non me din conta no momento, porén

was that I had become an activist,

era que me convertera nunha activista,

I could change something,

eu podía cambiar algo,

that even as a kid, or maybe even especially as a kid,

aínda sendo unha nena, ou tal vez precisamente por ser unha nena,

my voice mattered, and your voice matters too.

a miña voz importaba, e as súas voces tamén importan moito.

I want to let you know it's not going to be easy,

Quero que saiban que non será sinxelo,

and it wasn't easy for me,

e non foi sinxelo para min,

because I faced a lot of obstacles.

porque me enfrontei a un montón de obstáculos.

People online, and sometimes even in real life,

Xente en liña e ás veces tamén na vida real

were disrespectful to me and my family,

irrespetuosos comigo e a miña familia,

and talked about how the whole thing was a waste of time,

e dicían que todo isto era unha perda de tempo,

and it really discouraged me.

e iso desanimoume de veras.

And actually, I have some examples, because what's better revenge

E, de feito, teño algúns exemplos, porque, que mellor vinganza

than displaying their idiocy?

que amosar a súa estupidez?

So, let's see.

Así que vexamos.

From user name Liquidsore29 --

Do usuario Liquidstore29.

interesting user names we have here—

Temos nomes de usuario interesantes por aquí.

&quot;Disgusting liberal moms making their sons gay.&quot;

<Nais liberais horribles que converten seus fillos en homosexuais>.

Liquidsore29, really? Really? Okay.

¿Liquidstore29, non?¿ Si? Ben.

How about from Whiteboy77AGS:

¿E que tal Whiteboy77AGS?

"People always need something to (female dog) about."

<A xente sempre precisa algo para reclamar>.

From Jeffrey Gutierrez:

De Jeffrey Gutierrez:

&quot;OMG, shut up. You just want money and attention.&quot;

<Cala, por Deus. Só queres diñeiro e atención>.

So it was comments like these

Así que comentarios como estes

that really discouraged me from wanting to make change in the future

desanimáronme realmente de facer cambios no futuro

because I thought, people don't care,

porque pensei que á xente non lle importaba,

people think it's a waste of time,

que á xente lle parecía unha perda de tempo

and people are going to be disrespectful to me and my family.

e que a xente sería irrespetuosa comigo e coa miña familia.

It hurt me, and it made me think,

Doeume e fíxome cavilar.

what's the point of making change in the future?

Que sentido ten tratar de cambiar o futuro?

But then I started to realize something.

Pero logo comecei a percatarme de algo.

Haters gonna hate.

Os que odian odiarante.

Come on, say it with me. One, two, three:

Vamos, dígano comigo. Un, dous, tres:

Haters gonna hate.

Os que odian odiarante.

So let your haters hate,

Así que deixen que os inimigos odien.

you know what, and make your change,

E saben, vostedes fagan os seus cambios

because I know you can.

porque sei que poden.

I look out into this crowd,

Observo esta audiencia

and I see 400 people

e vexo 400 persoas

who came out because they wanted to know how they could make a change,

que viñeron porque querían saber como cambiar as cousas,

and I know that you can, and all of you watching at home can too

e sei que poden, e todos vostedes, dende casa tamén poden

because you have so much that you can do and that you believe in,

porque hai tanto que poden facer e no que cren

and you can trade it across all these social media,

e vostedes pódeno activar a través de todos eses medios sociais:

through Facebook, through Twitter, through YouTube, through Reddit, through Tumblr,

a través de Facebook, de Twitter, de YouTube, de Reddit, de Tumblr,

through whatever else you can think of.

a través de calquera medio que se lles ocorra.

And you can make that change.

E vostedes poden facer ese cambio.

You can take what you believe in

Vostedes poden tomar o que sexa que crean

and turn it into a cause and change it.

e convertilo nunha causa e cambialo.

And that spark that you've been hearing about all day today,

E esa chispa da que levan escoitando todo o día

you can use that spark that you have within you

póden empregar esa chispa que teñen dentro de vostedes

and turn it into a fire.

e convertila en lume.

Thank you.

Gracias.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)