I never thought I’d see the day that any topic became more volatile than circumcision — but it’s finally happened. Welcome to the War on Gender. Like any other hot topic, there are parts I agree with and parts I don’t. Then there are aspects I find absolutely ridiculous.
LEGO Debate: How Dare you Make One Just for Girls
This December, LEGO released a female targeted play set called LEGO Friends; a virtual world where you can own a Veterinary Hospital, live in a tree house or even run a coffee shop. Now there is a petition started against it. The petition, originated by a pair of 22-year-old activists for girls (Bailey Shoemaker Richards and Stephanie Cole) have launched “Tell LEGO to stop selling out girls! #LiberateLEGOs” under the heading of “Women’s Rights Petition”.
They claim the horrid infraction that LEGO committed is creating the toy “[...] so 5 year-olds can imagine themselves at the café, lounging at the pool with drinks, brushing their hair in front of a vanity mirror, singing in a club, or shopping with their girlfriends.”
OH MY GOD! ….wait….. most women I know do exactly that when given the chance to relax. Cafe? check. Pool lounging? Check. Brush your hair in the morning in front of your mirror? I sure hope so. Singing in a club? Nah, I don’t know many famous gals. Shopping with friends? Duh…all the time.
I kept reading to see if they were just holding back on the really bad stuff this toy implies. Oh, that’s it?
Why are those things a matter of ‘women’s rights’? I keep asking myself that question. This toys doesn’t have the characters cooking barefoot in the kitchen or running a daycare. The play sets represent very natural things that girls (and boys) like to do. Several of the sets are women running businesses. I know political correctness changes daily, but I’m pretty sure women owning companies is still a good thing.
This fuss is being further fueled by the re-circulation of a retro LEGO ad that shows a girl holding traditional LEGOs. Ok. All that says is that LEGO should make a few more commercials or print ads showing girls playing as much as boys. THAT should be the argument. Not targeting one specific toy just because it has pink and purple on it (“Barbielicious“). Ok..so is the problem the colors..or..the toy itself…or the activities the toy represents…or the lack of girl commercials..or…. what was the question again?
Let’s say, for the sake of argument, I could understand the problem. Here’s the easy solution:
If you are a girl… and you like traditional LEGOs……. then buy traditional LEGOs.
If you are a girl…and you like pink girly things….then buy the pink, girly LEGOs.
(You’re allowed to do that, by the way)
In fact… what about the girls who DO like “Barbielicious” toys? So they are suppose to just glare at the traditional LEGO sets and wish they had something they actually liked?
Or are we saying a girl doesn’t have the right to like pink?
Certainly seems that way. “Oh those poor, misguided little girls who do dream of being a movie star and love to wear purple – you aren’t REAL unless you are gender neutral!” Congratulations, you just made hundreds of thousands of little girls think there is something wrong with them just because they honestly like pastel colors. Reverse discrimination at it’s finest.
I could understand the anger if this was an issue where a girl-centric item or service was created INSTEAD of allowing them participation in the traditional version — prime example: baseball vs softball. But we’re talking about a toy line that makes ALL options available to anyone at any time. You have a choice.
- LEGO has marketed over 4,700 different LEGO block sets.
- Only ONE of those sets is specifically marketed ‘for girls’.
And suddenly they are putting women’s rights in jeopardy?
Oh. Come. On.
Kenda is stuck between puke and puberty raising a teen and a toddler. She readily confesses her addiction to coffee, geisha and creepy movies.
I didn’t even recognize your site. LOL Then I saw your picture and thought, she looks like Kenda!
This is ridiculous. I really can’t understand what is so wrong about creating a toy that even I want to play with.
I like your take on this, Kenda. It seems that the people complaining want to limit girls’ options just as much as they claim Lego does! And who says they are “just” for girls? These same people would be applauding a forward-thinking Lego company if they marketed pink Legos to boys. I find this whole controversy to be ridiculous. Lego isn’t saying that girls aren’t allowed to play with their other products. They’re not saying that only girls can play with these new products. As a Lego-loving girl who grew up to be an architect, I see nothing wrong with this product whatsoever (and I suspect I would have wanted some for myself). I don’t remember this much of an outcry when the American Institute of Architects recently teamed up with Mattel for “I Can Be an Architect Barbie”. Much ado about nothing. I say let the market decide.
I agree! How ridiculous! Is there not enough going on in the world that these people have to strike a kids toy?! I mean COME ON! Did these women even do any research of their own before they started the “Lego Bashing”? I am 38, I have 2 kids, and I can say without a doubt that it’s the parent(s) who help their little girls grow up strong and independent, NOT a toy! If they are serious on this issue, where were they when they first starting making Lego people in the first place? All men, all male characters, all directed towards what was considered male occupations! Where were they then? It is such a contradiction on their part. If someone DOESN’T have a female representation, then they squawk about that, and when they do it can’t be PINK! Do you know what that is called? Stupid. Should the NAACP get involved because they haven’t come out with a Lego person that is black, brown, tan etc? What is the real problem here? The “girl” Lego’s bodies are the same shape as the “boy” Lego’s bodies! I can’t even understand where they are coming from on this issue, have they SEEN Barbie? Go down any doll isle in any toy store and tell me, where are your average, maybe slightly overweight, not very great hair or skin doll? NOWHERE TO BE FOUND! Little girls that play with dolls like pretty, sparkly , girly dolls! Many, many dolls have a whole line that encourages little girls to see that having a profession is the way to go! They even have dolls where the ENTIRE line revolves around school!
I have seen the new Lego’s and I think they are great! My first thought was “They finally came out with pink Lego’s” and my 5 year old daughter agrees. So my final statement is POWER TO THE PINK!