to be MAD about bloody Lego Friends airport, where the pilot is a MAN.

[changeshow]

Got Lego Catalogue today. Looking through at all the exciting and colourful stuff for boys. Got to the Lego Friends page. Looking at the nice plane, check the figures.........

FLIGHT ATTENDANT SANDRA and PILOT DAVID. WTAF! Why is the pilot a bloke?!

Did no one at Lego has the wit to say 'errr women can be pilots'?

AIBU to be seriously unimpressed by this? Makes me bloody cross.

If a child shows and aptitude you fly with it whether its biochemistry or whatever surely? They all do the same subjects as far as im aware.

So a woman owns the plane in the lego set? Is that correct? She has employed the pilot. She is, presumably, very successful at what she does.

They will be damaged yes, good point Remus.

But being able to see inspirational female professionals around them on TV/the news can help to overcome that.

Seeing helen sharman in space blew my young mind. A girl from Sheffield going into space?? Oh my goodness...it IS possible. No matter what my teachers say, or that the careers counsellor laughed at me when I said I wanted to go to uni and be a scientist. It's possible. Pass me the textbooks!

I wanted female pilots/astronauts/scientists as role models. There weren't many.

It's so critically important that we take gender out of aspiration. Why should a toy that's amazing and successful and can be anything you want it be restricted like this? Why paint it pink? Why market it at girls with pink? It didn't need that, it was brilliant as it was.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with pink. So what? Take a tiny baby for instance. Dress them in lemon and everyone wants to say "what is it" boy or girl? really, people take all this too far.

What do you do for a living Crusts ?

As a woman, if you want to be a pilot, go be one.
As a woman, go be and astronaut.
As a woman, go be a scientist.

You can do that you know.

That's a bit personal chipped. What do you do?

I'm a chartered accountant.

crustaway you are missing the point. It's not the colour pink we are discussing. It's also not school subjects. It's role models for girls.

Jørgen Vig Knudstorp is the Lego CEO. I shall mail him tomorrow if I can dig out his email. Biz consultant. Aren't the Danes supposed to be cool?

I multitask between many roles myself.

I like genders being different and it doesnt offend me in the slightest. Im more about fair play in life.

WHAT! Has anyone contacted Lego for an explanation??? Because I'm going to.

Who reads these catalogues most, young boys. What messages does this send them? They get all the exciting stuff in the catalogue. Then they look at the Friends range. It's all about appearances, it doesn't do much, it looks nice. And pilot is a boy. Carry on with your male entitlement.

crusts re your post of 21.18 I'd be really interested to hear why you think it might be that women are massively under represented in those jobs?

This is the problem. Lego was the original ungendered toy. Completely colourful, completely amazing, its possibilities limited only by your imagination.

Long had it been this way.

Except at some point some fucking cretin at Lego decided that building blocks in green, red, yellow and blue screamed BOY and made this fucking ridiculous pinkified doll shit so that girls felt they were allowed to play with the (originally entirely genderless) building, constructing, imagining thing too. Except theirs IS limited because it's all about girls, and friends, and fucking hair salons.

It is a problem. It's a MASSIVE problem and it's fucking limiting and dangerous.

How do you know the boys read the catalogues the most? I think you are way overboard here.

A majority of girls do like girl things
A majority of boys do like boy things

Its fine and has nothing to do with equality.

We ARE different.

The fact that you won't say is quite telling to me.

I've been one of only 2 woman on my course at university.
I've been the only female professional in an entire firm of males.
I've been the only female manager in a financial services firm.

I can assure you that sexism is alive a kicking and part of the reason for that is there are existing stereotypes that we allow to continue unchallenged.

I don't want that for my daughter, I want her to be judged on her ability not because there is an expectation that David is the pilot and Sandra is the flight attendant and people apply that expectation to her.

Why is it telling? what are you assuming there? I have never been abused nor have I been bent out of shape about roles. It's about being comfortable in your own skin and getting where you want because it's what you want. I love being a woman, am very secure in that fact and don't scream a "cause"

so I mailed them to ask why the pilot was male on this page:

service.lego.com/en-gb/contactus

I'll let you know if there was a reply.

I assume crustsaway is missing the point on purpose.

How many women on this thread actually want to be a pilot?
I used to be one as a teenager until someone pointed out that it's probably almost as boring as being a bus driver.
Can people not just let kids play with the toys they want to play with?

WTF are "girl" things and "boy" things?!

Do you really think that gendered play is innate and not the result of socialisation?

Crustsaway is being honest and not screaming about gender.

Crusts if you think that women are free to do anything a man can do, without making more sacrifices than that man for the same role, you're delusional.

YANBU. To make the decision to have a male pilot and female attendants is either a deliberate one to reinforce stereotypes or it's the decision of a fucking idiot who can't understand the detrimental effect layers upon layers of sexist marketing has on both boys and girls.

It's not about actually wanting to be a sodding pilot!

It's a toy aimed at girls
There are two pink female flight attendants

But The pilot is a man

you can't see the problem here?

This. Exactly.