Thanks to Melissa Fanelli for this gem. It's not surprising that so many of these toys are either overly commercial and/or electronic in some form.
I'm also dying to know what you all think of the new "Lego Friends" for girls? Great way to get more young girls into building OR reinforcing horrid and limiting gender stereotypes?
Erin Mitchell
ReplyDeleteI think "Lego Friends" is a horrible way to get girls interested in legos. It sends a completely opposite message to young girls than the "Lego City" products send to boys. In "Lego Friends" the girls are supposed to build things like a bakery, hair salon and house. When girls engage in play with this new city once it is built, they take on traditionally feminine roles in society like baking and caregiving. The girls have extremely limited options on what to create out of the lego set that comes in the box, versus the boys who are encouraged to build and take apart and then build something different all from the same set or even something completely made up. Also, when you look at the figures, the difference between the 'boy version' and 'girl version' is so vast that you wouldn't even know it's the same product. The girl figures are taller, have curves and more details like eyelashes while in contrast, the boy figures are tiny and square without much variation besides the facial expression and clothing. On top of all that, "Lego Friends" is a city made of pastels, pinks, and purples. Even the boxes that the sets come in are pink and purple. I think if Lego wanted to encourage girls to play with their product, all they had to do was include girls in their commercials and advertising campaigns. When I was a kid, I loved playing Legos with my brother, and they didn't have to be pink for me to be interested.
I'm with you Erin. I think I'm mostly bothered by the basic assumption that you have to pander to these gender stereotypes in order to even hope to interest girls.
ReplyDeleteLegos were my favorite toy growing up. They have changed a bit, though. They are all about building a certain "set," often with a commercial tie in. I feel like most sets used to be more free form...they were just basic pieces that you could use to build whatever you wanted.
I do not think that this is a good way to get girls into Legos at all. Rather, it is contributing to the gender stereotypes that exist in almost ALL toys today. I don't think that Legos need to be gendered. Rather, they should enforce the idea of building and constructing things. I don't understand why lego can't market a gender neutral lego set. I always played legos with my brothers when I was younger and it taught me a lot about using my imagination and working as a part of a team to get something done. This is what should be used to market legos! Overall, I think it is silly to created gendered legos.
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ReplyDeleteI think the idea of "Lego Friends" for girls is not a good way to get them interested in legos. It is extremely frustrating that in today's society, so much of advertising is based on stereotypes that are not necessarily true. Erin mentioned above that in "Lego Friends", girls are supposed to build a bakery, hair salon, and house, which really sends the wrong message to girls. I would also play with legos when I was younger with my siblings and never felt that it was wrong that the legos weren't "girlie" enough, etc. I feel a main reason why this type of gender differences keeps being created with simple children's toys, such as legos is due to companies use of marketing tools. Selling many different "themes" is a way to increase their sales. It may not be right, but with such stiff competition for Legos, it definitely is a possible reason why "Lego Friends" for girls was created.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting, overall, that Legos used to be much more about open ended play. Most of the sets you could buy were just sets of mixed pieces and you could use your imagination to build anything. Gradually, I remember them introducing some themes: airport, castle, space etc. It was probably a marketing strategy to keep up as Kaleigh mentions. Now, when you shop for Legos they are virtually all thematic, many with multi media tie ins such as video games, books, TV shows, etc. The "Lego Friends" line seems to just be one more effort in this vein...
ReplyDeleteLego has been around for a long time, providing children with the opportunity to build abstract buildings and objects. Ever since I owned Legos, I had never thought about gender stereotypes at all. I had always seen them as plastic pieces that allow children to use their imagination to build whatever they like. Then Lego sets started coming out like Star Wars, train sets, and plane sets. I still had not thought of gender stereotypes because planes and trains are so general and most people travel using them so I could not associate them with either boys or girls, just both. After seeing this "girls version" Lego set, I definitely see the stereotypes they used in regards to women. When talking about media and companies nowadays, it seems almost impossible to not talk about them without the thought of stereotypes lingering in the back of your mind. Although this Lego set does build on stereotypes, if girls would rather build this than build a plane, let it be. Girls can also buy a simple Lego set with just regular pieces and create whatever they please.
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ReplyDeleteWhile I understand Legos desire to expand their brand to get more girls attracted to their product I think they went about the wrong way of doing this. As a little girl my parents also encouraged me to grow up and be whatever I wanted to be. I think that this is something that most parents tell to their children. However with media and toys only portraying girls with traditional stereotypical female roles such as a hairdresser or a stay at home mom it sends the opposite message. It forces younger girls to think that these are social norms of what they should be when they grow up, not a CEO of a multimillion dollar company but a stay at home Mom. By making toys that demonstrate these roles and having girls play with them it only further reinforces these gender specific roles that society is trying to get away from. If the goal of Lego was to make their product more attractable to young girls they should have simply incorporated a girl doll that looks similar to the boy ones that they currently have. Not distort them to have a curvy figure and long eye-lashes, the dolls look more like Polly Pockets then Legos. When I was little part of the fun of playing with Legos was using my creativity and play with them however I wanted. By having a predetermined design it limits the creativity process. This is something a lot of toy companies are now doing as they are pushing, “superficial gadgetry” toys that limit creativity as stated in the article.
I think the idea of LEGO friends is a bad one because it supports the idea of gender roles for young children. Lego's are a toy that can be played by children of both genders, and creating a version of Lego that includes female dolls and "feminine" colors such as purple and pink should not bring in more buyers for a product.
ReplyDeleteI honestly think it is a shame that kids have to have toys that require an ipod/iphone. Kids can have more than enough fun with a box or a swing set. The reliance of technology by kids these days is really sad.
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