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Lego Is For Girls


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Yesterday, we reported on the new teaser site for LEGO Friends, which is a new theme targeted at younger girls. But there were many questions raised about the theme: Why is LEGO doing this? What do they hope to gain out of it? How have their attempts in the past worked? Why did they move away from the traditional minifigure? Answers to some of these questions can be found in an article from <a href='http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/lego-is-for-girls-12142011.html?section=highlights' target='offsite'>Bloomberg Businessweek</a>, which takes a look at how and why Lego is trying to make sets for girls as well as boys. It's a very insightful article, so make sure to give it a read in order to understand some of the thought processes behind LEGO Friends.

 

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The reasoning for another line for girls was very solid. I, too, though not a girl, believe that girls should be able to enhance their spatial and math skills. Thanks, Lego.

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Why are orange and black such a good color Combination ? Purple is pretty, and so is blue. Pink hurts your eyes, green is quite mellowing, black is very threatning, red is cool, orange is SO awesome, yellow's hard to read... But you can't see white at all! Oh, wait. I forgot brown.

 

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I find it unsettling that Lego's lack of "pretty pink ponies" apparently means "no-girls-allowed" to some parents, according to the beginning of this article.I like to think this attitudes applies to only a small representative of moms.

Edited by Makaru

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Apparently girls don´t like minifigures.That wasn´t apparent.I thought LEGO was cutting down on new pieces, all these new sets just require more molds, no?As for the new colors, I´really hope LEGO doesn´t constrain them to just this theme, they would be quite useful.

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The reasoning for another line for girls was very solid. I, too, though not a girl, believe that girls should be able to enhance their spatial and math skills. Thanks, Lego.

I don't see how spaceships and aeroplanes etc. are stopping girls from liking Lego and developing the spacial and math skills...I'm a girl, I liked Lego since I was 3 or 4, I think it's more how the girl is brought up. My older brother and sister liked Lego at the time, so I could build with them, and we already had lots of parts, and my parents were pretty good with it. Too bad my mom isn't much into my buying lego anymore.

I find it unsettling that Lego's lack of "pretty pink ponies" apparently means "no-girls-allowed" to some parents, according to the beginning of this article.I like to think this attitudes applies to only a small representative of moms.

I think I agree with everything you said...why can't a girl like aliens and robots? I like em, and I'm a girl...=)

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I find it unsettling that Lego's lack of "pretty pink ponies" apparently means "no-girls-allowed" to some parents, according to the beginning of this article.I like to think this attitudes applies to only a small representative of moms.

What I find more unsettling is that "pretty pink ponies" means "no-boys allowed".Oh great, somebody´s going to propose MLP on Cuusoo.
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This very story actually had a small spot on Rock Center with Brian Williams on NBC tonight. I don't have a link since it only 30 minutes ago, but I'll try to find a clip somewhere on the interwebs ASAP.@Space and Alyska: You aren't exactly a representative sample of girls. The fact that you are on a forum devoted to Bionicle means that you were probably fans of the "boy" lines of Lego.As for Lego's move, I'm not so sure if it's the girls that want the pink stuff so much as the parents that tell them to want it. I think at a point the girls themselves really want it, however, that's because they've been innundated in pink "girly" things. They come home from the hospital in a pink blanket. They go to sleep in a pink crib. Their room is painted pink. They're given pink toys to play with. Gee, I wonder what their favorite color is?The parents try to buy stuff that looks "girly", so all the aliens and knights and dragons and soldiers get passed over on the way to the barbie section. This is a move to snag parents more than anything, however, it may turn out well financially.-don't touch my pocket protector

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@Toa of Nerds: It´s not that they´re favorite color is pink, just like all guys don´t like blue. It´s simply that society has associated pink with feminity, and people just conform.

Maybe "favorite color" wasn't the right term. What I was saying was that from an early age, parents associate their daughter with pink. Girls on TV are shown playing with pink things. Girls are taught that pink is for them. Parents think that pink is for their daughter as well. So the daughter wants pink things, and the parents want to buy the daughter pink things (which is probably what made the daughter want pink things to begin with). It's a cycle. Now, I'm not saying that all girls like pink. All I'm saying is what you're saying: that pink has been associated with girls, and that the girls, but more specifically the parents, want to conform to this arbitrary standard that's been set.-don't touch my pocket protector

Three great comedies at one low, low price....NOTHING!

 

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@ Toa of Nerds: True, I definitely can't speak for all girls, but at least most of my friends were never girly, but neither were they tomboys or anything like that. You're right, it's probably mostly what the parents do, how they bring them up with pink, pink, pink. Until recently, pink was just another colour...where did it get it's identity as a girl's colour anyway?Lucky for me my parents let me play with what I wanted, i.e. Transformers, Lego, Bionicle, other action figures...but I did enjoy things like stuffed animals, I used to wear dresses when I was quite little...but I always had a choice. Maybe if parents didn't steer the daughter towards the barbie aisle and let them find what they really want, Lego would never have thought of doing this.But it's not always the bringing up, my little sister, who is three, was always steered away from the dolls and all that, with some exceptions. She watches superhero shows, loves the Bionicle movies and the Harry Potter movies (much to my delight :)), but she still loves "girl" stuff. My cousin, who isn't particularly girly, absolutely loves the colour pink. Her room is pink, her sheets...it was kind of painful to stay in her room.I better stop now before I get too off topic.But I can't wait, maybe I can use my little sister as an excuse to get some sets, pink, purple, whatever colours we get will be an awesome addition to my parts collection. Can't wait. :)=)

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This pink situation is society stereotyping, like different genders 'should' get different jobs and all. So Lego just has to go with it if they want to get girls to want Lego. But that isn't the case as several others have pointed out. Hmmmm....... I feel like we're deviating somewhat from the topic. :P

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@Space and Alyska: You aren't exactly a representative sample of girls. The fact that you are on a forum devoted to Bionicle means that you were probably fans of the "boy" lines of Lego.As for Lego's move, I'm not so sure if it's the girls that want the pink stuff so much as the parents that tell them to want it. I think at a point the girls themselves really want it, however, that's because they've been innundated in pink "girly" things. They come home from the hospital in a pink blanket. They go to sleep in a pink crib. Their room is painted pink. They're given pink toys to play with. Gee, I wonder what their favorite color is?

Yeah, yeah, I know... Space and I are freaks of nature.And, yes, I did like stuff like Bionicle, but I was always wishing that it was more... girl-friendly. I wished that more of my friends could like it instead of Bratz. And since I've been told so many times that it's too hard to make something appeal to both genders equally without jeopardising sales, I would like to see something on par with Bionicle, story and set-wise, that could reach a female audience. I think people like Space and I are proof that it could work, if it was done well.Sure, maybe one or two of the characters could have pink on them, but I'd actually like to see a range of colours and styles. After all, contrary to popular belief, girls can be just as diverse personality-wise as boys.

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What I personally found most interesting from the article was that Duplo seems to be spread equally between boys and girls, but after that age the gap tends to form. I think LEGO Friends will be a neat theme to attract the female audience; it's certainly more oriented to the standard Lego system than some of their past girl themes. And while the theme is obviously not aimed at me (and as such I'm not too excited for it, with the exception of wanting some of the new colors) I do hope it does well.:music:

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@Space and Alyska: You aren't exactly a representative sample of girls. The fact that you are on a forum devoted to Bionicle means that you were probably fans of the "boy" lines of Lego.As for Lego's move, I'm not so sure if it's the girls that want the pink stuff so much as the parents that tell them to want it. I think at a point the girls themselves really want it, however, that's because they've been innundated in pink "girly" things. They come home from the hospital in a pink blanket. They go to sleep in a pink crib. Their room is painted pink. They're given pink toys to play with. Gee, I wonder what their favorite color is?

Yeah, yeah, I know... Space and I are freaks of nature.And, yes, I did like stuff like Bionicle, but I was always wishing that it was more... girl-friendly. I wished that more of my friends could like it instead of Bratz. And since I've been told so many times that it's too hard to make something appeal to both genders equally without jeopardising sales, I would like to see something on par with Bionicle, story and set-wise, that could reach a female audience. I think people like Space and I are proof that it could work, if it was done well.Sure, maybe one or two of the characters could have pink on them, but I'd actually like to see a range of colours and styles. After all, contrary to popular belief, girls can be just as diverse personality-wise as boys.
Not freaks of nature, it's just that your parents were much more awesome than most girls' http://www.bzpower.com/board/public/style_emoticons/default/cool.png . And as for the personality, I think the reason for that is the "smurf problem". In the Smurf books, there was lazy smurf and grouchy smurf and brainy smurf and so on. And then there was smurfette, whose main feature was that she was a girl. This happens everywhere, even in Bionicle somewhat. A full range of male personalities is represented, and then there's one female character who's "the girl". -don't touch my pocket protector

Three great comedies at one low, low price....NOTHING!

 

Three late-middle age matoran think of something they want to do before they kick the bucket.

 

Choose Your Own Bionicle Adventure (archived)

Navigate your way through a myriad of meaningless choices as you try to not make a fool of yourself in perhaps the only comedy ever written almost entirely in spoiler tags.

 

Useless BZP Junk that you Must Have!!!

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@Space and Alyska: You aren't exactly a representative sample of girls. The fact that you are on a forum devoted to Bionicle means that you were probably fans of the "boy" lines of Lego.As for Lego's move, I'm not so sure if it's the girls that want the pink stuff so much as the parents that tell them to want it. I think at a point the girls themselves really want it, however, that's because they've been innundated in pink "girly" things. They come home from the hospital in a pink blanket. They go to sleep in a pink crib. Their room is painted pink. They're given pink toys to play with. Gee, I wonder what their favorite color is?

Yeah, yeah, I know... Space and I are freaks of nature.And, yes, I did like stuff like Bionicle, but I was always wishing that it was more... girl-friendly. I wished that more of my friends could like it instead of Bratz. And since I've been told so many times that it's too hard to make something appeal to both genders equally without jeopardising sales, I would like to see something on par with Bionicle, story and set-wise, that could reach a female audience. I think people like Space and I are proof that it could work, if it was done well.Sure, maybe one or two of the characters could have pink on them, but I'd actually like to see a range of colours and styles. After all, contrary to popular belief, girls can be just as diverse personality-wise as boys.
Heh no kidding.... (sigh) (the last part)Anyway.... my sister likes pink, but she isn't (terribly) girly.And I'm pretty sure that when she was little she probably played with my stuff. But she still liked dolls.So pink dosnt equate to girly.

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First of all, what qualifies a set as "not for girls?"Just because a set isn't slathered in pink bricks or feature horses or princesses doesn't mean a girl can't play with it. In the past, sets aimed at girls have been more or less dismal failures, I think. Quite a large number of girls were just fine with Bionicle, judging from the multitude of female members here on BZP. And Bionicle was more than likely targeted towards a male audience. Just because a theme features ninjas, guns, explosions, or fantasy adventures doesn't mean a girl can't have fun with it. Maybe Lego is just that out of touch with kids' psyche these days. I mean, look at all us guys with pony sigs and avatars. :P

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@Toa of Nerds: It´s not that they´re favorite color is pink, just like all guys don´t like blue. It´s simply that society has associated pink with feminity, and people just conform.

Maybe "favorite color" wasn't the right term. What I was saying was that from an early age, parents associate their daughter with pink. Girls on TV are shown playing with pink things. Girls are taught that pink is for them. Parents think that pink is for their daughter as well. So the daughter wants pink things, and the parents want to buy the daughter pink things (which is probably what made the daughter want pink things to begin with). It's a cycle. Now, I'm not saying that all girls like pink. All I'm saying is what you're saying: that pink has been associated with girls, and that the girls, but more specifically the parents, want to conform to this arbitrary standard that's been set.-don't touch my pocket protector
You have doen nothing more than restate what I said. Edited by Waffles
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I personally think that Lego should survey a wide variety of children, girls and boys, to see what their interests are.Then, using that data, they should be able to find what most girls and boys have in common, as far as interests go, and use that as the base for a series of sets.Though that does seem kinda difficult, if lego has the time and devotion to attempt at creating the best sets that will grab the attention of every gender, then they should try this.I spent my childhood playing with transformers, Lego Bricks, toy cars, and video games, so I'm at no position to say what most girls want. I have no right to tell anyone what the interests are of the modern young girl.I just think that the lines should not be defined as "this is for girls, and this is for boys," but blurred together to create "This interests girls and boys."I don't know if this suggestion I've made would seem like a good idea to everyone, but it does to me.

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This very story actually had a small spot on Rock Center with Brian Williams on NBC tonight. I don't have a link since it only 30 minutes ago, but I'll try to find a clip somewhere on the interwebs ASAP.@Space and Alyska: You aren't exactly a representative sample of girls. The fact that you are on a forum devoted to Bionicle means that you were probably fans of the "boy" lines of Lego.As for Lego's move, I'm not so sure if it's the girls that want the pink stuff so much as the parents that tell them to want it. I think at a point the girls themselves really want it, however, that's because they've been innundated in pink "girly" things. They come home from the hospital in a pink blanket. They go to sleep in a pink crib. Their room is painted pink. They're given pink toys to play with. Gee, I wonder what their favorite color is?The parents try to buy stuff that looks "girly", so all the aliens and knights and dragons and soldiers get passed over on the way to the barbie section. This is a move to snag parents more than anything, however, it may turn out well financially.-don't touch my pocket protector

Pulleeeeeeeeeeeeease. Actually, pink was a serious turn-off for me as a youngster. I hated conformity from an early age, and I associated pink with conformity, weakness, and silliness. Also, however, I associated Lego with my brother until Bionicle appeared. Or rather, until Bionicle story appeared. Lego is going at this the wrong way. Pink and lavender will appeal to the parents, but those toys are just as likely to be left in the closet by the girl those parents are buying it for if there is no storyline or imagination behind it. And while Lego's lines of trucks, helicopters and monsters certainly appeal to boys, their contraction figure lines still appeal to girls, and they need to work on expanding that. After all, Alyska, Space, and now me are sitting here as living proof. I think those types of lines can appeal to both genders. The last thing we need is Lego becoming entirely gender-segregated, girl this and boy that, and I am sad to see Lego heading in that direction. I still found the article informative regarding Lego's business practices, however.
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While we are definitely a minority, I think a few tweaks to the marketing and a few other things would make Lego more accessible to both genders. But Lego seems to think that attracting more girls to the regular themes will deter their male fanbase, so they don't even try. Hence the "total segregation" line of thinking.I'm not unhappy that Friends exists, since it proves that Lego *is* trying to appeal to girls, but I think they need a more diverse range of options- not just playing "house".

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While we are definitely a minority, I think a few tweaks to the marketing and a few other things would make Lego more accessible to both genders. But Lego seems to think that attracting more girls to the regular themes will deter their male fanbase, so they don't even try. Hence the "total segregation" line of thinking. I'm not unhappy ofthat Friends exists, since it proves that Lego *is* trying to appeal to girls, but I think they need a more diverse range of options- not just playing "house".

Although I know you're thinking of the line you had posted on Cuusoo, I still do agree with you that LEGO needs to be more diverse. I didn't read into that entirely, but I have a feeling yours probably would have made a better line for girls. Still, interesting to see LEGO taking another step to getting a female fanbase, but their way of doing it isn't exactly what I would have thought they'd come out with. =/But, instead of going on a five-paragraph long rant, I'm just going to say that it's all marketing and advertising. The only reason LEGO is doing it is marketing - they want even more profits and income, and especially as it's getting closer and closer to Christmas.

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

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On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

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I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

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While we are definitely a minority, I think a few tweaks to the marketing and a few other things would make Lego more accessible to both genders. But Lego seems to think that attracting more girls to the regular themes will deter their male fanbase, so they don't even try. Hence the "total segregation" line of thinking.I'm not unhappy that Friends exists, since it proves that Lego *is* trying to appeal to girls, but I think they need a more diverse range of options- not just playing "house".

I don't see any guys running off of BZPower just because we are here.:) But seriously, I agree with you - its just an example of Lego trying to appeal to "little girls" while insulting the older feminine fanbase. I think it is just another symptom of Lego trying to appeal to little kids at the expense of older fans. Needless to say, I won't be buying Friends. It doesn't appeal to me.
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I'm not unhappy that Friends exists, since it proves that Lego *is* trying to appeal to girls, but I think they need a more diverse range of options- not just playing "house".

Lego isn't trying to appeal to girls. They are trying to appeal to parents buying sets for girls.I think we can agree that from the reaction of the female populace here that Lego already pretty much has appeased to girls by not belittling them, even in times of compromise.

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I don't see any guys running off of BZPower just because we are here. :)

Oh, I think I've scared off a few in my time. And soon I will scare them all off, and we shall rule together! MUAHAHAHA!...At least, that's what Lego thinks is going to happen. :P

I'm not unhappy that Friends exists, since it proves that Lego *is* trying to appeal to girls, but I think they need a more diverse range of options- not just playing "house".

Lego isn't trying to appeal to girls. They are trying to appeal to parents buying sets for girls.I think we can agree that from the reaction of the female populace here that Lego already pretty much has appeased to girls by not belittling them, even in times of compromise.
Well, I am torn on this one. The amount of research that went into this implies that many little girls will like these sets, whether their parents are the ones who get them or not. But, at the same time, girls need options. There's nothing wrong with wanting to play house, but when playing house is the only option you give girls, then there's a problem.I've said this before, but this line needs to do moderately well to show Lego that they have the potential for a female fanbase, or else they'll go back to not caring about girls for another five years. So, it needs to do well enough to make a profit, but not so well that they don't want to make any changes or try anything new. It's a means to an end, the end hopefully being girl-oriented sets that are on par with boys', and the breaking of the stereotype that anything for girls is automatically terrible.

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I'm not quite sure why there's so much fuss. It's not like Lego is going to stop producing it's male-targeted or gender-neutral sets. Heck, the article mentioned that Target's not even going to place the Friends sets in the Lego aisle, so it's pinkness won't contaminate the other Lego sets. :P It's just an outreach attempt to a new kind of audience. If you're not interested in it, why not just treat it like any other Lego theme you don't like and just don't buy it. Just a suggestion. ;):music:

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Something I see a lot of people assuming is that LEGO sets in general tend to be gender-neutral, and that it's just coincidence that LEGO's female audience only accounts for about 8% of its sales (if I'm remembering my statistics correctly). This doesn't seem like sound reasoning to me at all. It assumes that because some girls like themes like BIONICLE, City, and Hero Factory, the themes are equally accessible to all girls and boys.In fact, the real situation is that many LEGO lines are consciously marketed towards boys, based on the things that boys have been shown in focus group research and anthropological research to like. The fact that there's an overlap between the interests of boys and girls does not mean that there's not an imbalance in the sets LEGO sells.The worst conclusion people reach based on this assumption is that girls who would enjoy building toys should be able to enjoy gender-neutral or boy-oriented themes just fine, and that if they don't then they just aren't cut out to be LEGO fans and should continue playing with toys like Barbie and Polly Pocket. I find this especially insulting, especially as much of the time this criticism comes from boys or men who would be ashamed to buy a girl-oriented LEGO theme. Just because it's more socially acceptable for girls to play with boy-oriented toys than vice-versa doesn't mean they should just be happy with boy-oriented toys or become a gender stereotype.I personally hope that the LEGO Friends theme is successful, because it will set an example for toy companies around the world that building toys are not just a boys' pasttime, and that the main reason that girls are a minority in that market is that there aren't enough toys out there catered towards their interests. Overall I think LEGO fans have many reasons to expect this theme to be successful, as well. The amount of research that was done before releasing the theme should certainly give TLG a good idea of whether the theme can be successful or not, much more so than any LEGO fan's armchair evaluation.

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Something I see a lot of people assuming is that LEGO sets in general tend to be gender-neutral, and that it's just coincidence that LEGO's female audience only accounts for about 8% of its sales (if I'm remembering my statistics correctly). This doesn't seem like sound reasoning to me at all. It assumes that because some girls like themes like BIONICLE, City, and Hero Factory, the themes are equally accessible to all girls and boys. In fact, the real situation is that many LEGO lines are consciously marketed towards boys, based on the things that boys have been shown in focus group research and anthropological research to like. The fact that there's an overlap between the interests of boys and girls does not mean that there's not an imbalance in the sets LEGO sells. The worst conclusion people reach based on this assumption is that girls who would enjoy building toys should be able to enjoy gender-neutral or boy-oriented themes just fine, and that if they don't then they just aren't cut out to be LEGO fans and should continue playing with toys like Barbie and Polly Pocket. I find this especially insulting, especially as much of the time this criticism comes from boys or men who would be ashamed to buy a girl-oriented LEGO theme. Just because it's more socially acceptable for girls to play with boy-oriented toys than vice-versa doesn't mean they should just be happy with boy-oriented toys or become a gender stereotype. I personally hope that the LEGO Friends theme is successful, because it will set an example for toy companies around the world that building toys are not just a boys' pasttime, and that the main reason that girls are a minority in that market is that there aren't enough toys out there catered towards their interests. Overall I think LEGO fans have many reasons to expect this theme to be successful, as well. The amount of research that was done before releasing the theme should certainly give TLG a good idea of whether the theme can be successful or not, much more so than any LEGO fan's armchair evaluation.

Aanchir, I don't always agree with your analysis, but in this case I feel you totally hit the nail on the head.

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Something I see a lot of people assuming is that LEGO sets in general tend to be gender-neutral, and that it's just coincidence that LEGO's female audience only accounts for about 8% of its sales (if I'm remembering my statistics correctly). This doesn't seem like sound reasoning to me at all. It assumes that because some girls like themes like BIONICLE, City, and Hero Factory, the themes are equally accessible to all girls and boys.In fact, the real situation is that many LEGO lines are consciously marketed towards boys, based on the things that boys have been shown in focus group research and anthropological research to like. The fact that there's an overlap between the interests of boys and girls does not mean that there's not an imbalance in the sets LEGO sells.The worst conclusion people reach based on this assumption is that girls who would enjoy building toys should be able to enjoy gender-neutral or boy-oriented themes just fine, and that if they don't then they just aren't cut out to be LEGO fans and should continue playing with toys like Barbie and Polly Pocket. I find this especially insulting, especially as much of the time this criticism comes from boys or men who would be ashamed to buy a girl-oriented LEGO theme. Just because it's more socially acceptable for girls to play with boy-oriented toys than vice-versa doesn't mean they should just be happy with boy-oriented toys or become a gender stereotype.I personally hope that the LEGO Friends theme is successful, because it will set an example for toy companies around the world that building toys are not just a boys' pasttime, and that the main reason that girls are a minority in that market is that there aren't enough toys out there catered towards their interests. Overall I think LEGO fans have many reasons to expect this theme to be successful, as well. The amount of research that was done before releasing the theme should certainly give TLG a good idea of whether the theme can be successful or not, much more so than any LEGO fan's armchair evaluation.

I have to give a nod to the last paragraph, because it is something the world needs to hear that girls like playing with building sets. But I'm not sure I wish to be labeled a tomboy just because I like playing with Hero Factory as opposed to some silly Lego Friends set, and I'm not sure girls as a population wish to be treated that way either. Yes, some Lego lines are consciously marketed towards boys. Some girls don't exactly appreciate trucks and helicopters. But right now, I would argue that Lego's ​contraction figure lines are mostly gender neutral except for a few minor touches in the building structure of the female characters. That can and should be improved, but I don't want Lego to become entirely gender-segregated regarding everything, and especially that.Also, just because a theme is boys-only, doesn't mean it doesn't have a legitimate right to exist. And Friends seems kind of silly; girls deserve better than that, but I would hate to see Lego allocate resources away from excellent "boy" themes to silly "girl" themes that nobody wants.
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It boggles my mind how people can say so matter-of-factly that "nobody wants themes like Friends." Have any of you actually done a survey of what young girls want to play with? Why are people so quick to assume that TLG has no idea what they are talking about, even though they've undoubtedly done more research into this subject than anyone posting on this board?Edit: Also, regarding the equally matter-of-fact statement that TLG's constraction figure lines appeal to girls, is there any actual evidence that they do so any more than conventional lego lines? I honestly would not be suprised if a theoretical study done on this revealed that Bionicle and Hero Factory's sales were skewed even further towards males.

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Well, of course BIONICLE and HF are boy-oriented mostly. They have very little gender variety and are pretty muh weapons and mask and tools, stuff LEGO doesn´t assume girls will like. We really haven´t seen any constraction sets that are gender-neutral or girl-oriented.

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I am really glad that Lego is launching Lego Friends. Not by the sets, mind you but the fact that Lego is trying to get back it's girl buyers. Whether it be for their former unisex and anti-violence (such as guns and tanks… i think) status that they were so proud of, or just plain marketing reasons, I don't give a flying pig's curly tail. I'm just glad they're TRYING, even after their utter fails in other sets that were catering for girls.What I do give a flying pig's tail about is the… painfully hyper girl-ness of the Friends sets. I found a picture of a box of one of the Friends sets from a blog post about gender segregation of toys, and this picture had those lady-figures (why is it called 'lady'-figure? Are they going to have boy figures in that style too? Will they be called 'Gent'-figures?) in a bathtub/Jacuzzi, with a cone of ice-cream in the figure's hand. I am thankful that Lego has put much research effort in Friends but frankly, I feel a bit… upset (to say the least) and large parts disappointed. Out of all the things you would want to build why a jacuzzi? If we assume that generally girls have a tendency to play with a story in mind (which I fully support), what is that jacuzzi and lady-figure saying that story should be about?What makes me even more upset is to then find another picture, in that same article, of an older Lego advertisement for the then recent Universal Building Sets. A red headed girl in a grey and purple striped shirt, jeans and purple tennis shoes is holding up an amalgamation of lego pieces that no one can guess but the creator to its purpose, with a shy, thrilled smile on her face. The actual sets themselves are small pictures, beside her feet. Now what is this girl telling you?I understand that Friends is catering for girls and Lego must feel a bit shaky with the past failures of said catering, but things like this make me worried. A girl shouldn't have to feel that a toy is not meant for her just because there is no barbie like appeal to it, and I think they don't. I think Friends already has the attention of more 'mainstream' girls just by the colors and the figurines. Although I did poke fun at what they're called - lady-figures- I find that they are well crafted with a simple design and don't deviate too extremely from their predecessor, the mini-figure. Even if the mop hair and the built in skirt annoy me, they are shaped better to be an avatar for a story and at the same time keep their roots as a building toy AKA, Lego Bricks. And if what the Lego Friends article said is true about the back stories of the mini/lady-figures of the sets, then Lego should not feel the need to add overly used gimmicks from the Hyper Girl Stereotype bandwagon. Oh, and another thing I want to gnaw on: Heartlake city, which consists and I quote, "a salon, a horse academy, a veterinary clinic, and a café". I fully understand why they have a veterinary clinic, they have a horse academy and horses will eventually need some patching up to do. What I don't understand, in following this logic, is why there is no Hospital. Or Human clinic, if they so prefer (questionable giggle). Human's get hurt and have aw-ies, do they not? So why do they not have a HOSPITAL in a city? If this set does not follow a certain type of kid logic to the structure of its city infrastructure I feel it unnecessarily emphasizes the girl stereotype that the horse academy, salon, and questionably the cafe has already established, and I don't think Lego Friends is setting out to do that.And that horse academy. Why is it, of all things, an academy JUST about horses? Was this another pointer that the girls from the research study hinted at or was this another over reliance of stereotypes? I think girls will find an academy of ANIMAL/zoology just as interesting as an academy with only horses. In fact, they could have the horses as the introduction to the academy of zoology and have 'bonus' sets with other animals that add on to the academy as a collection element… and I think I just came up with a good Idea, if I do say so myself. XDOverall, I encourage Lego with its attempt in Lego Friends. It's a step in the right direction. I merely emphasize (which I think some of my fellow female members have been doing as well) the over reliance of the girl stereotype that is evident in Friends that should be hammered, bleached and laser-ed out as the toy line gains more success (although this is coming from a girl that found barbie sucked at age 4 or younger and have been with Bionicle since I was nine and going on strong ). Maybe it will be the catalyst for strong, unisex toy-lines if it pushes away the Hyper Girly Bandwagon, who knows.

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Something I see a lot of people assuming is that LEGO sets in general tend to be gender-neutral, and that it's just coincidence that LEGO's female audience only accounts for about 8% of its sales (if I'm remembering my statistics correctly). This doesn't seem like sound reasoning to me at all. It assumes that because some girls like themes like BIONICLE, City, and Hero Factory, the themes are equally accessible to all girls and boys.In fact, the real situation is that many LEGO lines are consciously marketed towards boys, based on the things that boys have been shown in focus group research and anthropological research to like. The fact that there's an overlap between the interests of boys and girls does not mean that there's not an imbalance in the sets LEGO sells.The worst conclusion people reach based on this assumption is that girls who would enjoy building toys should be able to enjoy gender-neutral or boy-oriented themes just fine, and that if they don't then they just aren't cut out to be LEGO fans and should continue playing with toys like Barbie and Polly Pocket. I find this especially insulting, especially as much of the time this criticism comes from boys or men who would be ashamed to buy a girl-oriented LEGO theme. Just because it's more socially acceptable for girls to play with boy-oriented toys than vice-versa doesn't mean they should just be happy with boy-oriented toys or become a gender stereotype.I personally hope that the LEGO Friends theme is successful, because it will set an example for toy companies around the world that building toys are not just a boys' pasttime, and that the main reason that girls are a minority in that market is that there aren't enough toys out there catered towards their interests. Overall I think LEGO fans have many reasons to expect this theme to be successful, as well. The amount of research that was done before releasing the theme should certainly give TLG a good idea of whether the theme can be successful or not, much more so than any LEGO fan's armchair evaluation.

I have to give a nod to the last paragraph, because it is something the world needs to hear that girls like playing with building sets. But I'm not sure I wish to be labeled a tomboy just because I like playing with Hero Factory as opposed to some silly Lego Friends set, and I'm not sure girls as a population wish to be treated that way either.Yes, some Lego lines are consciously marketed towards boys. Some girls don't exactly appreciate trucks and helicopters. But right now, I would argue that Lego's ​contraction figure lines are mostly gender neutral except for a few minor touches in the building structure of the female characters. That can and should be improved, but I don't want Lego to become entirely gender-segregated regarding everything, and especially that.Also, just because a theme is boys-only, doesn't mean it doesn't have a legitimate right to exist. And Friends seems kind of silly; girls deserve better than that, but I would hate to see Lego allocate resources away from excellent "boy" themes to silly "girl" themes that nobody wants.
I really disagree that the constraction lines are mostly gender-neutral. Action figures in general appeal mainly to boys, which is part of the reason it is so difficult for any company, LEGO included, to get a female action figure to sell as well as a male one. I don't think there's any reason to expect action figure themes to become any more gender-segregated than they already are, just because the female audience for action figures is so small compared to the male audience that there would be no point in releasing a strictly girl-oriented line separate from those currently being made.The fact that sets are being made for girls with more traditionally "girly" interests doesn't label girls who like other LEGO product lines as "tomboys" in any way. After all, there is a natural overlap between girls' interests and the LEGO product lines that currently exist. LEGO Friends just caters to those girls who might not be a part of that overlap. Really, I don't see why that causes problems-- I see no difference in the level of building quality, play quality, or creative quality between the LEGO Friends sets and themes like Ninjago that are targeted primarily toward boys. There are simply different characteristics to the design to cater to a different set of interests.

I am really glad that Lego is launching Lego Friends. Not by the sets, mind you but the fact that Lego is trying to get back it's girl buyers. Whether it be for their former unisex and anti-violence (such as guns and tanks… i think) status that they were so proud of, or just plain marketing reasons, I don't give a flying pig's curly tail. I'm just glad they're TRYING, even after their utter fails in other sets that were catering for girls.What I do give a flying pig's tail about is the… painfully hyper girl-ness of the Friends sets. I found a picture of a box of one of the Friends sets from a blog post about gender segregation of toys, and this picture had those lady-figures (why is it called 'lady'-figure? Are they going to have boy figures in that style too? Will they be called 'Gent'-figures?) in a bathtub/Jacuzzi, with a cone of ice-cream in the figure's hand. I am thankful that Lego has put much research effort in Friends but frankly, I feel a bit… upset (to say the least) and large parts disappointed. Out of all the things you would want to build why a jacuzzi? If we assume that generally girls have a tendency to play with a story in mind (which I fully support), what is that jacuzzi and lady-figure saying that story should be about?What makes me even more upset is to then find another picture, in that same article, of an older Lego advertisement for the then recent Universal Building Sets. A red headed girl in a grey and purple striped shirt, jeans and purple tennis shoes is holding up an amalgamation of lego pieces that no one can guess but the creator to its purpose, with a shy, thrilled smile on her face. The actual sets themselves are small pictures, beside her feet. Now what is this girl telling you?I understand that Friends is catering for girls and Lego must feel a bit shaky with the past failures of said catering, but things like this make me worried. A girl shouldn't have to feel that a toy is not meant for her just because there is no barbie like appeal to it, and I think they don't. I think Friends already has the attention of more 'mainstream' girls just by the colors and the figurines. Although I did poke fun at what they're called - lady-figures- I find that they are well crafted with a simple design and don't deviate too extremely from their predecessor, the mini-figure. Even if the mop hair and the built in skirt annoy me, they are shaped better to be an avatar for a story and at the same time keep their roots as a building toy AKA, Lego Bricks. And if what the Lego Friends article said is true about the back stories of the mini/lady-figures of the sets, then Lego should not feel the need to add overly used gimmicks from the Hyper Girl Stereotype bandwagon. Oh, and another thing I want to gnaw on: Heartlake city, which consists and I quote, "a salon, a horse academy, a veterinary clinic, and a café". I fully understand why they have a veterinary clinic, they have a horse academy and horses will eventually need some patching up to do. What I don't understand, in following this logic, is why there is no Hospital. Or Human clinic, if they so prefer (questionable giggle). Human's get hurt and have aw-ies, do they not? So why do they not have a HOSPITAL in a city? If this set does not follow a certain type of kid logic to the structure of its city infrastructure I feel it unnecessarily emphasizes the girl stereotype that the horse academy, salon, and questionably the cafe has already established, and I don't think Lego Friends is setting out to do that.And that horse academy. Why is it, of all things, an academy JUST about horses? Was this another pointer that the girls from the research study hinted at or was this another over reliance of stereotypes? I think girls will find an academy of ANIMAL/zoology just as interesting as an academy with only horses. In fact, they could have the horses as the introduction to the academy of zoology and have 'bonus' sets with other animals that add on to the academy as a collection element… and I think I just came up with a good Idea, if I do say so myself. XDOverall, I encourage Lego with its attempt in Lego Friends. It's a step in the right direction. I merely emphasize (which I think some of my fellow female members have been doing as well) the over reliance of the girl stereotype that is evident in Friends that should be hammered, bleached and laser-ed out as the toy line gains more success (although this is coming from a girl that found barbie sucked at age 4 or younger and have been with Bionicle since I was nine and going on strong ). Maybe it will be the catalyst for strong, unisex toy-lines if it pushes away the Hyper Girly Bandwagon, who knows.Oh, and if anyone is interested in the article about toy segregation for boys and girls you may go here Inappropriate language removed. -B6 Although this blog is about comics I find that the stuff this lady talks about has some relevance to our situation as Bionicle fans.

Ladyfig is not an official term as far as I know, it's just an term made up by AFOLs who refuse to consider anything but the traditional minifigure design a true "minifigure".Also, to an extent, gender stereotypes have an impact on the contents of the Friends sets. But this is only because the sets tend to include things that girls tend to like. Meanwhile there are lots of less stereotypical sets, like the robot lab set. Meanwhile, just because sales have consistently shown girls to like toys with things like pools and pet shows, that doesn't mean it's promoting unhealthy stereotypes to market such sets toward girls.Something to consider regarding the lack of sets like a hospital is that as mentioned here, TLG's anthropological research showed that girls tended to play in the first person rather than the third person. While some sets like the convertible still focus on future ambitions girls might have (after all, I highly doubt 16-year-old girls are the target audience for these sets), showing preteen-to-teenage girls working in a hospital might exceed willing suspension of disbelief for some. An animal hospital is a context a girl above the Duplo age range could perhaps identify with on a more direct level. It also allows for a set with a variety of animals, which are a big interest for a lot of girls.As for the horse academy, you seem to misunderstand what this is. It's not a school where people learn about horses, but rather a school where people learn to ride horses. This is not strictly a girlish interest (my younger brother is a very talented rider and has been riding horses for many years), but it is an interest that girls within the target age range tend to have, just as boys within the City theme's target age range might have interests in police cars and fire engines.And these are factors that TLG can't control-- typical girls' interests are constantly reinforced by movies, books, peers, and other toy companies. TLG could try to market firefighting sets towards girls, but what would it accomplish? Because of these outside factors, most girls wouldn't buy the sets, even if firefighting is in fact a realistic career ambition for men and women. And the girls who don't buy the sets would not be influenced by it at all-- instead, they would continue to be influenced by the same stimuli as if TLG didn't have any girl-oriented theme.Sometimes these stimuli would reinforce unhealthy gender stereotypes, like how "finding true love" is deemed an ultimate ambition in many franchises. But other times these stimuli are no less healthy than the pressure boys of the same age have to buy toys involving "battle" and "action" rather than more the more harmonious themes of many girl-oriented toys. Overall, the Friends theme may appeal to girls in many very traditional ways, but I don't see any way in which it is unhealthy the way some girl-oriented toys tend to be.
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I'm happy to see LEGO at least did their research, rather than trying another line of terrible sets plus bucket-loads of accessories and everything in pink. There's an interesting discussion about gender stereotyping going on here, which has a lot of good points brought up in it, but I don't feel I have anything to say on it that hasn't already been said.So I just have to say -- after seeing the Friends set of Olivia's house in the catalog, I'm pretty jealous of this Olivia character. She has David Tennant as her dad! XD (Seriously, can't anyone see the resemblance?)

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honestly my thoughts on this are that this will not work out, but then again i thought hero factory wouldn't work either. maybe lego should actually meet the people, not just study marketing charts of what different groups of people buy. My little sister loves Lego Bricks and likes bionicles. With this lego may extinguish any hope of me actually getting her to understand bionicle in the future.

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honestly my thoughts on this are that this will not work out, but then again i thought hero factory wouldn't work either. maybe lego should actually meet the people, not just study marketing charts of what different groups of people buy. My little sister loves Lego Bricks and likes bionicles. With this lego may extinguish any hope of me actually getting her to understand bionicle in the future.

Read this article. LEGO did exactly that-- rather than just looking at focus groups and sales statistics, they did proper anthropological research, observing how young girls tended to play when left to their own devices.A lot of people seem to be comfortable with the idea that TLG is this awkward behemoth completely out-of-touch with its fans, not realizing that their hours of market research give them a lot more insight into what kinds of toys appeal to their audience than any one fan's personal anecdotes.Why would this theme keep your sister from understanding BIONICLE? If she really enjoys BIONICLE, then it shouldn't matter whether another theme comes out that appeals to girls. After all, there are plenty of male BIONICLE fans within the target demographic for Hero Factory or Ninjago, but they can still enjoy BIONICLE whether or not other themes exist that appeal to boys their age. It's possible that the Friends theme won't even appeal to your sister, but if it does, that's just one more LEGO theme to enjoy.
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