Inclusive advertising Lego

My mother was very into the idea of pink and blue, girls toys and boys toys. As a result, I think I was 4 the first time I said it wasn't fair and I hated pink

I played with my brother's Lego all the time anyway. And he played with dolls sometimes too - because we were similar ages and weren't just going to parallel play with the gendered toys that officially belonged to us.

I'm glad there wasn't special pinkified Lego back then. I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much.

I also think even just the name 'Lego Friends' just feeds into the stereotype that girls are always 'kind' and 'friends' and that pressure of having perfect relationships, that boys are just not subjected to as much. They can just do their own thing, be the hero etc.

My DD absolutely loves Lego Friends, but I can also see her starting to be socialised that way as well, with her 'BFF' at school, her 'gang' etc and it just feels like my DS just never had that pressure?

The only issue i have with lego friends is the dimensions of the characters, who have tiny waists. Why aren't they just normal minifigures?

Which is your favourite modular Cwenthryth? I like the Fire Brigade because to my mind it's the first having a proper execution but a close second is the Parisian Restaurant for its charm.

Great thing about Lego... Change the head, change the sex. Or even just the hair...

Friends could easily be improved with a few more male characters (there are some). Unfortunately you can't wind back the clock to make Lego friends be Minifigs. But you can't condemn a whole range just because of that.

@toffeebutterpopcorn "I never wore pink as a child. I don’t think it was ever even offered"

Same here - it was regarded as a colour for babies and toddlers, along with 'baby blue' and soft yellow. My 'girlier' friends wore primary colours, polka dots, maybe peach accessories, but not pink: it was seen as infantile.

Advertising from 2013. I think it's fantastic that more girls than ever are Lego fans. Friends has been such a success for Lego.

Cwenthryth I know she is female because her that's her character. Her name is on the box.

And how do you know - from looking at the figure - that she is female?

Also Cwenthryth in the 'main' Lego themes there are loads of female characters. The Fire Chief is female. Her name is Freya McCloud. Also I have never seen the words 'for boys only' on any Lego set ever.

I love that ad! We have enough lego to sink a battleship but my 6 year old boy chose the lego friends ice cream van last time he was thinking the legs shop. I think the bright colours appeal to him

Cwenthryth science and tech, motor racing, sailing, sports, skateboarding, judo, flying planes, camping, journalism....these are just some of these things the Friends characters have done over their 9 years. Oh and one sells Hot Dogs. Are these particularly 'feminine'?

motogogo that's great that your daughter is an engineer. Although how old is she. Lego Friends has only been on the market for 9 years so if she is a fully qualified engineer now she was probably not the age that Friends is mostly aimed at when it was launched.

Lego Friends featuring equal boy and girl characters and advertised with boys and girls playing with them, fab. Deciding that the main Lego line isn’t for girls so making a pink and purple one full of pets and popstars “for girls”, sucks. It’s not the colours and themes depicted that are the issue, it’s the labelling of those colours and themes as “for girls” that is the problem.

Don’t forget the Let Toys Be Toys campaign started on this board!

Personally I always enjoyed the city (hospital/police/fire station) stuff as a child, and the pirates theme! I was bought some pink/mint green “girl” lego, late 80s/early 90s, something to do with horses, but was dissatisfied with it as the colours made it look like the world was made of ice cream and it wasn’t right to my 8 year old eyes! I now collect massive modular buildings and one-off sets like the Women of NASA etc.

They were inclusive in the 70s too. Now, however ...

PaleGreen if you don't want the minidolls sell them. Many a Lego fan will happily take them off your hands. Some are worth quite a bit.

Lego Friends has been one of the most successful themes Lego have created. They did years of research so what they went with obviously showed that's what consumers want.
The Friends range doesn't come in pink boxes and never has.
Friends is 100% compatible and the same scale as the ranges such as City and Ninjago etc. Compared to their previous 'girls' ranges - Homemaker, Belville, Scala, Clikits which were compatible (all Lego is compatible) but not the same scale.
Lego Friends is a fantastic theme.

It’s not just how they market Lego friends to girls that’s the problem, but also how they market violence, aggression and construction specifically to boys.

They have veered so far from their original ethos and brand name but it makes them lots and lots of money.

Pink is just a colour. Being negative about pink things just makes it a lesser colour.
Looking at the Friends set DDs are currently building the predominant colour actually appears to be Turquoise.

The funny people are annoying though. At 7yo my DD asked why the people needed to be different...

We have City, Friends, Dots, Harry Potter, Ideas, Architecture, Creator, Jurassic Park... All types really.

I'm very regressive and I don't dictate to my kids that the long hair is for the girl figures and the blue tops are for the boy figures etc. We've currently got a very mixed set of characters going on.

Did anyone see the fallout over this on FB last night?

It can only be Marie Wilson (or Amy Winehouse). Queens aren’t fit to carry their hairspray...

Lego friends is more detailed and tends to have more wildlife themes. Hidden side is also good. Lego elves was amazing. Personally, I find city very bland and not terribly imaginative.
It’s important not to be biased against things because they are designed for females.