To be really annoyed that Lego seems to all be for boys?

[rogersmellyonthetelly]

DD (5) has just discovered Lego. I would like to get her some for Christmas, however all the play sets seem to be aimed at boys. I don't particularly want pink stuff, but a play set that doesn't involve a) star wars b) cars/trucks or c) scary dragon looking things would be nice. Is it just me or is it a bit sexist this Lego lark?

YANBU- However the situation is far better than it was for DD 14. She is not a girly girl, but there was very little to cater for her as she was growing up. The houses are relatively new. She does love the Harry Potter stuff which she has just got out again. I am sure she would love the Hogwarts Express or some of the Shop ranges but they are mega bucks. They did stop making the Harry Potter for a while so we didn't even have that to fall back on!
The Belville stuff is not really LEGO and aimed at much younger children. Ello was much better than the Belville. I did write to Lego about the situation and they did say they were just bringing out the houses at the time, but most of it is still very boy oriented.

She did inherit a lovely box of pastel lego from my nieces, who are now 19 and 21

"Am I missing something-what is wrong with star wars and lorries for girls?"

Nothing but if not all girls like stars wars types and lorries and there is far more star wars and lorries than anything else.

Why can't girls be themselves and not need to be the same as boys!

Not all boys like it either! I don't know why girls can't be themselves-probably for the same reason that people never allow boys to have things just for boys. Any special mention of things just for boys get an outcry of 'why are they different-why so they need something special' (and yet this is OK for girls)

Lego is the one toy that is NOT gender specific! I just checked the Lego website and it's full of all variety of stuff. Can I recommend you this amazing bit of lego crafting:

shop.lego.com/en-GB/Pet-Shop-10218;jsessionid=bUZqBu-xNN24f+HG-+HTrQ**.lego-ps-2-2?icmp=SHHomeM1_10218

I want it, I want it, I want it!

Also, check out the Christmas Village items, they're fabulous: a little bakery, the post office, a little christmas tree. Oh sigh, to be a child again...

I woke up this morning to the sound of 4yo dd1 telling 2yo dd2 that she needed to be more still because she was dead after dd1 had shot her. Dd1's weapon was a pink fairy wand.
Later in the morning we had to tell dd2 off for hitting dd1 with a toy train.
Girls can make weapons too. It is more of a children thing than a boy thing I think.

That is why I like it Ciske-it will be a sad day when they try to market for girls rather than DCs.

But Ciske that stuff is so expensive! I would love it, as would DD.

But Ciske that stuff is so expensive! I would love it, as would DD.

Try eBay - I got some fabulous second hand sets from there, and seeing that Lego is pretty much indestructable, it's still great quality. My DD plays with the duplo blocks my parents bought for us in the seventies!

rogersmellyonthetelly Mon 14-Nov-11 19:56:45
"Lol you are right ladies, I am being sexist. I had loads of fun with my space Lego as a kid. I'm just used to her being such a Girly girl, it's a bit of a shock to be looking at toys that aren't in a pink box."

Bravo OP rare good attitude on AIBU

what is wrong with just a big box of bright coloured lego bricks for children to use their IMAGINATION?

I think there is plenty of Lego out there which isn't particularly boyish (Lego City, Creator, etc, not to mention Belville). But I do think Lego do a lot more sets now which are about fighting/weapons, which I'm not keen on, and neither is my ds. He loves Lego City though!

DD loves Star Wars toys, aliens, monsters and dinosaurs. I have NEVER bought her a pink toy. As she grows up she'll have a chance to play with LEGO, technic LEGO, Meccano, circuit kits and so on.

IMHO there will be far more chance of her growing up to become an engineer than DNiece who is only ever given pink and sparkly toys. DN even has LEGO in shades of pink and purple because clearly as a girl she is not meant to play with NORMAL LEGO.

I agree with the OP although my dds love lego and like the house/town/city stuff. They have ZERO interest in Star Wars/pirates of caribbean etc (despite dh's best efforts). Harry Potter is quite popular but tbh the branded sets are SO expensive. I'd love to see more house kits and furniture etc. The pink Belville lego is CRAPOLA, nothing to build and, well, PINK.

That said, they do appear to have a girl section on the lego site:

shop.lego.com/en-GB/Girls-ByCategory

It contains the expected (Winnie the Pooh, lots of animals, a little pink house) but also such gems as a massive pirate ship, the Guggenheim Museum and the Seattle Space Needle. No princesses!

and if you want to search for building instructions

Amazed at how prescriptive over pink some people are! Don't you just support your daughters to choose what they want? That might mean a pink tutu one day and a plastic drill the next. Actually laughing at the idea that not having pink and sparkly means they will become an engineer.

My daughter has this www.amazon.co.uk/LEGO-Creator-5891-Apple-House/dp/B002KCNUYO/ref=sr_1_1?s=kids&ie=UTF8&qid=1321349864&sr=1-1
There are lots of houses. She also has this www.amazon.co.uk/LEGO-Creator-5867-Super-Speedster/dp/B002KCNUY4/ref=sr_1_1?s=kids&ie=UTF8&qid=1321349915&sr=1-1 which is not girly, but she wanted it.

I am not wanting pink, although if DD wanted it I don't see why she should have it - you have to meet my daughter. At 14 she is "emo" and dresses in black skinny jeans and band tshirts and no make up! So I have hardly turned her into a pink princess!. As I said the situation is alot better now than when she was younger because it was really nothing between the Belville and the very boyish stuff except in the very expensive ranges.
But she did have a more girly side to her as well, but there seemed a big hole that didn't cater for her.
I do have a DS who loved his bionicles and we have got an old version of mindstorm, which although DD has talked about hasn't ever got it out.

Now my niece is a very very girly girl, played with pastel lego and is now at university. She is one of a tiny minority of girls on her computer science course.

Not saying DD will become an engineer - she is just a toddler! I'm just trying to point out that a child given the opportunity to play with the types of toys I listed would be more likely to grow up interested in engineering for example than a child only given pink and sparkly toys (which are usually dolls, ponies and the like)

DD is also getting a doll for Chrismas with a nappy she can change (expecting a sibling in the New Year) but I would have bought the same toy for a boy.

Yis all seem to be complaining about a problem that doesn't exist. There is pretty much any kind of lego you can think of, pink, purple, primary colours, houses and farms and castles and horse jumping and camper vans....

Honestly, have a look before you start whinging.

A proper interest in ponies makes most little girls fearless and quite hardcore. I'd encourage any mum of girls to nurture it!

Yes, I don't doubt it but my DNiece only has the plastic ones!

It's a start

YANBU, most of the lego sets have only a token female character and some have none at all! Power miners - where's the crystal Queen?

Changey - its all there on the Lego website, but from what I remember places like ToysRUs tend to overwhelmingly stock the more macho end of the range. That may be the root of the OPs perceived problem.

Only to be expected from somewhere that has a 'pink aisle' I suppose!