LEGO is set to release their new Friends line, aimed at bringing a wider female audience into the hobby. The linked article is on The Brick Blogger, even though the actual article is in Bloomberg, because The Brick Blogger also has links to a number of other articles comparing the new minifigs to the classic ones, and a couple editorials on the situation.
The whole Bloomberg article is worth a read, but the best parts are there on Brick Blogger. My favorite quote:
The LEGO Friends team is aware of the paradox at the heart of its work: To break down old stereotypes about how girls play, it risks reinforcing others. “If it takes color-coding or ponies and hairdressers to get girls playing with LEGO, I’ll put up with it, at least for now, because it’s just so good for little girls’ brains,” says Lise Eliot. A neuroscientist at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Chicago, Eliot is the author of Pink Brain Blue Brain, a 2009 survey of hundreds of scientific papers on gender differences in children. “Especially on television, the advertising explicitly shows who should be playing with a toy, and kids pick up on those cues”, Eliot says. “There is no reason to think LEGO is more intrinsically appealing to boys.”
No LEGO ponies? I want mah Fluttershy!!!!
There already were Scala and Belleville lines.
And they are/were terrible.
Scala was largely incompatable with the rest of the bricks, and Belville was off-scale (the figs are like 4" tall) and the buildings consisted mostly of large pre-built walls.
Her hands say a lot about Lego's views of men-women interation.
Look closely: she's holding a severed head D:
There was also the Lego Paradise set, which fit with the others just fine. My sister never had any trouble playing legos with us though, I don't really see the neccesity. I still think I'll give my daughter spaceships and dragons when she gets old enough if I get the chance
Where is that "+1" feature we requested?!?!
There was also the Lego Paradise set, which fit with the others just fine. My sister never had any trouble playing legos with us though, I don't really see the neccesity. I still think I'll give my daughter spaceships and dragons when she gets old enough if I get the chance
Where is that "+1" feature we requested?!?!
It was killed off because it would have hurt people's feelings if they didn't get enough +1s to their posts.
There was also the Lego Paradise set, which fit with the others just fine. My sister never had any trouble playing legos with us though, I don't really see the neccesity. I still think I'll give my daughter spaceships and dragons when she gets old enough if I get the chance
Yeah, basically girls play with LEGO if parents buy it for them. I do think the designers made some interesting observations in their research about the difference between how boys and girls play with LEGO. Firstly that boys build in a more linear fashion, not really going into "play" mode until the set is complete, while girls stop and start with periods of play in between building, and secondly that girls project more, often requiring an avatar before they really become invested. This translates into a couple changes to the design of the sets, namely how it's organized in the box and also the change to the minifig design.
Beyond that I just found this in The Independant, and it's relevant to the whole discussion:
My oldest daughter and my son often fight over various Lego pieces, particular figures, lightsabers, and choice vehicle parts...
And since I have a lack of d&d mini's they have taken to customizing lego figures to be like their characters for use in the game. Consequently they love the random leog figure lines.
TjD
LEGO for girls? What are they gonna do, build an Easy Bake Oven out of 'em?
That is probably the girls toy that boys are most likely to play with.
i like legos and ponies
I like LEGOS and girls
i like legos and ponies
I like LEGOS and girls
Nice to meet you, why don't you have a seat over there?
Hey guys. So I know it was all said in fun, but our forums aren't really the place for joking about bestiality and making these references. I've removed all that content.
Except for this post.
The way Trevor put it makes me not mind the missing content one bit. Perfect!
EDIT: I just wish I remember what I said.
EDIT2: Oh yeah! That's what I said! Damn, I'm one funny dood, yo.
Hey guys. So I know it was all said in fun, but our forums aren't really the place for joking about bestiality and making these references. I've removed all that content.
Wow! Not copypasta?
The thing that's truly scary about Trev's comment is that there are places on the internet where jokes about bestiality are actually on-topic. (I'm pretty sure at least one of us forum regulars probably knows a few of them...)
Humanity scares me sometimes.. more and more... Y'know, nothing really scares me anymore - the end is near and we're all screwed, so why bother being afraid?
(Damn I'm a cheerful bastard tonight, lol)