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Gender-Normative LEGOs With Boobs Pissing Everyone Off
By
Jamie Feldmar
Published Dec 23, 2011
Modified Dec 23, 2011
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By
Jamie Feldmar
Published Dec 23, 2011
Modified Dec 23, 2011
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Drama is stacking up against the children's classic LEGOs this week, with some people plenty pissed over the company's brand-new ladies-only toy set. Why, oh why, would LEGOs ever need boobs? The new LEGO "Friend" set features five busty female characters in settings like hair salons and doggie daycares, going about their girly business. It's part of a new plan from LEGO to appeal to more girls—a worthwhile cause with a poorly executed campaign.
Parents are pissed that LEGOs, which were originally created to appeal equally to both boys and girls, started shifting their marketing focus more to boys a few years ago, with campaigns like LEGO Alien Conquest and LEGO Star Wars. "Lego play develops spatial, mathematical, and fine motor skills, and lets kids build almost anything they can imagine, often leading to hours of quiet, independent play. Which is why Lego’s focus on boys has left many parents [are] frustrated that their daughters are missing out," explains Business Week.
Now that the company has decided to tap into "the other 50 percent of the world's children" with the pandering "Friends" campaign, the backlash is forming: one Brooklyn woman started an-anti "Friends" petition, demanding that supporters "Tell LEGO to stop selling out girls! #LiberateLEGOs." She told the Daily News that the company's assumption that girls don’t want to play with conventional Legos because they’re not interested in plain old building is insulting. "Please respect the fact that girls have brains and imaginations that extend far beyond the 'pink' stereotypes—and that stereotypes place unfair, unequal and unproductive limits on both sides," wrote one wise petition supporter.
"Friends" opponents are working to convert Zach, the testosterone-heavy LEGO maniac, to their gender-neutral side:
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